San Mateo County Fair August 12-21, 2005
by Gene Sussli
Note: This is the full version of the article that appeared in the June 2005 edition of Bay News.
The Entry & Prize Catalog for the San Mateo County Fair is fresh off the press. In the Floral Arts Department, Division 308 is for entries of the Gesneriads family. As promised, there are now 8 classes for Gesneriads. The entry classes for Gesneriads are in fact as listed in the April copy of our Bay News newsletter. The first 3 classes are reserved for AV's and the remaining 5 classes are for the other gessies. Each exhibitor is allowed TWO (2) entries in each class, but they must be of different species or varieties. So technically each of us could enter 16 different plants in this division, if one is also the proud owner of Saintpaulias.
There will be an additional class in Division 309 for a Gesneriad Collection. A collection is defined as ANY 3 species or varieties, properly labeled, in separate containers not over 8" in size.
Entry Registration Deadline is Monday, July 11, 2005. Postmark is OK. Entries will be received at the Fair in San Mateo on Wednesday & Thursday, August 10 & 11 from 4:30-7:30pm. Judging of Gesneriads entries is on Friday morning. The Fair opens Friday afternoon August 12 and closes on Sunday night August 21. Entries will be released on Monday, August 22 from 4:00-8:00pm.
There is a nominal entry fee of $1.00 per entry, but limited to a maximum of $20.00 per exhibitor in all Floral Arts divisions. For your information, the are approximately 100 different classes in which you could enter your plants in this department, in such a wide variety of divisions as Foliage Potted Plants, Cacti, Succulents & Bromeliads, Flowering Potted Plants and of course our Gesneriads. On top of that there are an additional 130 classes of cut flowers and roses in which you could enter as well, all under Floral Arts.
Awards offered are the standard blue, red and white ribbons, as well as green ribbons for Honorable Mention. There is a cash award of $6 for any 1st place win, $4 for a 2nd place and $3 for a 3rd place. But the cash awards are for Collections are sweeter. There, a 1st place is worth $15, a 2nd place pays $10 and a 3rd place is awarded $7.
There are additional Special Awards of $100 and a Rosette for the Floral Arts Sweepstakes, going to the person raking up the highest point total of 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings in all divisions. Brand new is an additional "Managers Choice Award", which is also worth $100 and a rosette. A Rosette is offered for 2nd and 3rd placings overall as well. No entry is required for those special awards, and the Fair will determine the winners by total of points earned in all judging periods.
Last year I personally entered about 45 plants and paid the maximum entry fee of $20 for my Floral Arts entries. At the conclusion of the Fair I had won 14 First placings, the Best in Division for Gesneriads and also earned the most points in the Floral Arts Sweepstakes. I walked home with a total cash award of over $300. I hereby make the solemn promise not to repeat my Sweepstakes win this year, to give someone else a chance to win that $100 cash and nice rosette, by limiting my personal entries. However, no such promise is made in not trying to win the "Best in Division" for Gesneriads, so you better enter your best plants to beat me there. Of course there is no cash at stake for this feat, just the pleasure of knowing you had the best, and another fancy rosette.
In the past (and I have not heard anything to the contrary for this year), the Fair also handed out 2 complimentary entry tickets to attend the Fair (good any day, any time), as well as a parking pass to each exhibitor at the time the entries were brought in. This package is worth $26. Good fun and entertainment is to be had at the Fair, not to mention the fact that you can personally check out the placings and winners of your own entries. In fact there is a way that you can get more than one set of the entry tickets/parking pass packages for your entries. More about that at our next club meeting, or your personal inquiry to me.
I will bring copies of the appropriate pages of the premium catalog and entry forms to our next club meeting on Sunday, June 19. I will also be available for any questions you may have. However, if you can't wait to see the premium catalog, or God forbid you cannot attend our next club meeting, then you can visit the website of the San Mateo County Fair at: www.sanmateocountyfair.com and view or download any information you need yourself. The Floral Arts Department description starts on page 28 and goes to page 41. By the way, the complete catalog including entry forms and rules has about 150 pages. So you can see, there is lots of fun to be had.
As I promised before, I am prepared to water, maintain and groom any entry of any and all of our members for the duration of the Fair. Please don't forget to make 2 COPIES of your completed entry form(s) before you mail them in. Keep one copy yourself so you know what classes you entered and give the second copy to me so I know what I have to maintain. If there is any other help you need with delivering or picking up your entries, just let me know. I can also advise anyone on how to make generic entries on the entry form, to allow you to substitute another plant for the one you intended to bring, if another plant has more flowers or is just a "showier" specimen. Any other questions? Call me at 650/349-1388 or send an email to: sussli@netscape.com.