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With categories for everything from fresh vegetables and baked goods to local honey and handmade clothing, there are many opportunities for Coffee County residents to walk away with a blue ribbon at the end of fair week.

Loretta Crowe came to the Starnes Exhibit building carrying two handmade quilts to enter for competition. It was only the second year she has decided to enter her quilts at the fair.

“I did last year, it was my very first time,” she said. “It was very rewarding. When I came in and saw my ribbon on there I started crying.”

Crowe said she believes she took home a second place finish last year, and is looking forward to see how her quilts fare with the judges this year.

“I am entering two quilts,” she said. “One is a disappearing nine patch and the other is just a simple square, is what it is called.”

Crowe said there are a few things to keep in mind when making a quality handmade quilt.

“Quality in material, the better the material the better the quality the quilt will turn out,” Crowe said. “Just quality of fabric, quality of your thread and your heart.”

“Your heart goes into every one of them,” she added.

Over at the Junior Canning display, Lily Umbarger had a basket of canned goods ranging from peaches and cherries to salsa and Ukrainian Pickled Tomatoes.

“It is just different things, most of it is stuff that we grew or got from the farmer’s market,” she said. “I tried some different pickles and stuff this year.”

Umbarger said she learned to can food from her grandmother.

I like all kinds of stuff,” she said. “I like making pickles and jams.”

Umbarger said her best advice for someone interested in home canning, but they have never given it a try is simple.

“Just try it and see what you can do,” she said.

Handmade clothing for all ages is also a judged category during the Coffee County Fair. For the past 17 years, Carol McBride has overseen the adult-made clothing submissions.

Categories range from ladies dresses to wool garments as well as children’s clothing for different age groups.

“Construction is a big thing,” McBride said. “My judge will look on the inside. I grew up in 4-H in Iowa, and my mother always said you want your clothing to look as nice on the inside as it does on the outside. You want straight hems, attention to detail.”

McBride said that overall submissions seem to be down this year, but she has some local ladies who consistently submit items for judging every fair season.

“One of the ladies brought me 46 things,” she said. “She just loves it and I guarantee you she has already started for what she is going to bring next year.”

McBride said following the fair, this entrant gives away everything she made and submitted that year to those in need.

“She has a daughter that has a daycare, and she takes stuff and lets the parents ‘shop’, if anything left over is donated,” she said.

For more information about what categories are available and the rules and regulations, copies of the 2023 Coffee County Fair Book are available at The Manchester Times, 300 N. Spring St.