Maryland State Fair

Is anyone in the region planning of attending and/or exhibiting at the Maryland State Fair? If so, I'd love to meet when you're in my neighborhood. I live 3 blocks from the Fair Grounds southern entrance and about a mile from the main event area. (Not a long walk at all.)

I mostly try to avoid and not to think about the 10 Worst Days of Summer, but for an SFGer, I'll come out of my burrow. (My family does go to the Fair for at least one day, but that's it! Mostly, we take back roads and pray for Labor Day.)

Bummer -- turns out that the deadline for entering produce in the State Fair was July 31!

The good news is that they have a new category called "Wheelbarrow Gardens."  This sounds almost tailor made for SFGs.  Granted, pushing a full wheelbarrow a mile (the distance from my home to the exhibit hall) with a vertical frame attached sounds a little daunting, but OMG -- this is something I can work towards next year -- with real Mel Mix and everything.  And decorate it with SFG information!  (Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.)

The exhibitor will provide own wheelbarrow and bring it to the fair growing. Judging
criteria includes quality of growing plants, layout or arrangement of plants and exterior
decoration. After being judged, the wheelbarrow gardens will be used for decorating
various areas on the fairground during the Maryland State Fair.
AWARDS, Classes C91 – C96
1st Place $30.00 2nd Place $25.00
3rd Place $20.00 4th Place $15.00
5th Place $10.00
Construction Wheelbarrow (workable – approximately 6 cu. ft.)
C91 Vegetable Wheelbarrow
C92 Combination Wheelbarrow (combination of classes C91& J86 in Flowers)
Homeowner Wheelbarrow (workable – approximately 4 cu. ft.)
C93 Vegetable Wheelbarrow
C94 Combination Wheelbarrow (combination of classes C93 & J89 in Flowers)
Childs Wheelbarrow (ages 12 and under)
C95 Vegetable Wheelbarrow
C96 Combination Wheelbarrow (combination of classes C95 & J92 in FlowersMaryland State Fair - Vegetables

I suggest calling the Fair office and see if the entry deadline is firm. YOu maky find that there is some flex in the rules...... then again, maybe not. My guess is you can drive your wheel barrow garden in for set up and take down.

Maybe I missed it but were is the location of the fair?

floyd1440 wrote:Maybe I missed it but were is the location of the fair?

WriterCPA wrote:Is anyone in the region planning of attending and/or exhibiting at the Maryland State Fair?

Just fyi, this posting is in the Mid Atlantic regional forum I'm famous for not noticing things are in regional forums floyd, so no worries. Road trip?  

What are the dates of the Maryland State Fair?
8/23/2013 - 9/2/2013 (Labor Day)

Maryland State Fair is in Timonium, MD at the Maryland Fair Grounds on York Road.

It is a great traditional old fair with ag exhibits, pig races, horse races, a midway, corn dogs, funnel cakes, rides, concerts (mostly tame cover bands, but last year we had Justin Bieber)

There is food on the midway, but we always get ours from the ag association vendors over on the backside of the fair near the animals barns.  You cannot beat fresh cut french fries, cobbler from just chopped peaches, the smoked turkey legs (my personal favorite) and unbelievable BBQ!

I'm not a ride person, so while my family scares itself silly, I slowly wander the ag exhibits, the crafts hall -- quilts! quilts! quilts!  the 4-H -- the kids are amazing!  And there's other good stuff to be had from State agency exhibits with great info, and giggles from old fashion barkers selling "miracle pots" and other stuff.

PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 2200 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium, MD 21093
Website: Maryland State Fair

Exits 16 and 17 from I-83 from York PA or heading north from the I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) brings you right there.

State Fair FAQs http://www.marylandstatefair.com/index.cfm?page=info&id=19
(There are also ride specials with Food Lion coupons)

What are the dates of the Maryland State Fair?
8/23/2013 - 9/2/2013

How much does admission cost?

Adult admission: $8, Senior Citizen (62 & Over) $6, Children 6 to 11: $3, children 5 & under are admitted FREE (Rides are not included).  A ticket is required for all persons aged 3 and over for concerts held in the Racetrack Infield.  Rides are not included. Rides are individually priced.


How much are rides going to cost?

Tickets may be purchased at the Midway Ride Ticket Booths. Tickets are $1 each and each ride uses approximately 2-6 ride tickets. RIDE DISCOUNT TICKET SHEETS are also available at ride ticket booths: 50 ride tickets for $45.

RIDE SPECIALS:

ADVANCE TICKET DISCOUNTS:  Fare better by purchasing in advance a $100 minimum of any combination of Fair Admission, Ride Wristband and/or Food Coupons no later than Friday, August 16th, 2013.  Check back next year for Advanced Ticket discounts!

WRISTBANDS:  Ride Wristbands, for $23, will be available Friday, August 23rd, 2013, Monday, August 26th, 2013 through Friday, August 30th, 2013.  Ride wristbands can be purchased at the Midway ride ticket booths (SOLD ONLY FROM Noon to 6 PM).  Ride Wristbands can be used Noon to 10 PM ONLY!  FAIR ADMISSION IS NOT INCLUDED.

M&T $DOLLAR$ PREVIEW NIGHT:  Thursday, August 22nd, 2013 ONLY - from 5 PM to Close - NEW!!! this year, the Maryland State Fair will offer a Dollar Preview Night when admission is only $1 and $1 per ride.

FOOD LION RIDE COUPON:  Ride wristbands will be available Friday, August 23rd, 2013, Monday, August 26th, 2013 through Thursday, August 29th, 2013.  Fairgoers pay $23 (SOLD ONLY FROM Noon to 6 PM) to ride an unlimited number of rides from Noon to 10 PM.  A $5 Off Food Lion coupon is available at participating local Food Lion stores while supplies last.  FAIR ADMISSION IS NOT INCLUDED.

LABOR DAY RIDE SPECIAL:  Monday, September 2nd, 2013 from 10 AM to 10 PM.  Fairgoers pay $23 to ride an unlimited number of rides from 10 AM to 10 PM.  FAIR ADMISSION IS NOT INCLUDED.

I don't usually "do" the State Fair but if there's enough interest, I'll be glad to meet up.  My son lives just a couple miles from there.

If no one else is interested/able to be there we should meet up some other time. 

Kim

A big meet-up sounds like it could be fun. I was not thinking of anything so complicated. I was just looking for one or two companions for wandering around the exhibits.

At 55 years, 5' 1", 190 lbs, and liberal politics, I'm mostly harmless. All my craft girlfriends live far away, so I'm just looking for someone who likes to garden and sew with a free afternoon to check out the exhibits at the Fair.

I went to the Fair on Thursday, Aug. 29.  The weather was perfect.  It was Master Gardener Day, but I got there too late for some of the talks on veggies and weeds.  Still, I learned a lot about composting and dividing perennials.

Here are pictures from the Fair, including the pig races at the end!  (What's a fair without pig races?)

I can't say I always agreed with the judges about which veggies were worthy of the blue ribbons, but I really got excited about entering something next year.

Thanks for posting.  I enjoyed looking at the all the veggies.   

I will have to remember to take photos at the National Heirloom Exposition next week.

Glad to share them. Hopefully next year we can get an SFG group to go for Master Gardener's Day. It really is worth it.

Looking forward to seeing the heirloom photos.