Calling all parents, grandparents, and childcare providers! Are you looking for fun activities to keep children engaged over the summer vacation from school? What about an activity that has the prospect of a prize-winning ribbon and cash money upon completion? Look no further than the Youth Competitive Exhibit Department at the Lebanon Area Fair!
The Exhibit Hall at the Lebanon Area Fair is filled with competitive exhibits entered by residents of Lebanon County and the surrounding area, and an important category within those exhibits is those entered by youth under age 19. Participating youth do NOT need to be members of any 4-H Club or FFA Chapter! They do have to plan ahead, just a bit, by making sure to get these projects registered by the entry deadline on July 7, but the project does not have to be turned in to the Fair until July 21.
Below are some of our favorite divisions that just about any kid can easily enter and possibly win a first-place ribbon and a premium check. Visit the Exhibit page of our website for all the information you need.
- Youth Foods: This is for the bakers in the house. There are classes for breads, cakes, cookies, and brownies, as well as candy house, cake, and cupcake decorating! Entry fees are only $0.50 and first prize wins $5 and a blue ribbon.
- Youth Needlecraft: Have your kids learned to sew in a family and consumer science class? Enter those school projects or make a new one! There are classes for clothing, tote bags, aprons, and pillow cases. Entry fees are $0.75 and first prize wins $7 and a blue ribbon.
- Youth Photography: “Have iPhone. Will photograph.” Of course if you also enjoy using a “real” camera – film or digital – these classes are made for you. Get those photos printed and mounted according to the specifications in the Fair Catalog. There are classes for black and white or color scenery, portraits, animals, flowers, buildings, and more. For those that like to Photoshop, there is a special class especially for digital manipulation!
- Youth Painting: Whether you prefer oil, watercolor, or acrylic paint, there are classes for your framed or stretched canvas paintings. We break these classes down into two age groups for more fair judging: age 10 and under, and age 11 to 18.
- Youth Drawing: Here we welcome your crayon, pencil, marker, and colored pencil works of art in two age groups: age 10 and under, and age 11 to 18. Entry fees for photography, painting, and drawing are $0.50 and first prize wins $5 and a blue ribbon.
- Youth Arts & Handcrafts: This category includes a wide variety of classes – 42 to be exact – spanning anything from basketry to woodwork. There are wonderful classes for little children, such as button crafts or decorated mason jars and painted flower pots. If your kids love to reduce, reuse, recycle, check out the recycle/upcycle classes! Creativity abounds in this division. These entry fees range from $0.50 to $0.75 with first prize winning $5-$7 and a blue ribbon.
- Youth Clay Pottery: There’s still time for this project! Hand-form or throw a clay object and paint and fire it before the Fair. Make sure to date and sign your project to show it has been completed since last year’s Fair! The Pottery classes have a $1 entry fee and first prize wins $25 and a blue ribbon.
- Youth Contests: Calling all future builders and engineers! If you love building with Legos, K’nex, or models, these classes are for you. We have 36 unique classes in this division with an entry fee of just $0.25. Show off those toys and you will be entering for a chance at a $25 Best of Show prize award!
Finally, children up to age 10 may enter our annual coloring contest. The coloring page can be printed from our Catalog (PDF) on page 9 or picked up from the Fair Office. Coloring contests must be returned to the office by July 7. They will be judged and all contests displayed in West Hall. You are welcome to pick up your contest during the Fair and claim your ribbon from the Fair Manager desk.
The Lebanon Area Fair Office staff is here to help all first-time exhibitors in navigating the entry process. Give them a call Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 717-273-3795 or email info@lebanonareafair.com.
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