The 2024 Utah State Fair wants you! Enter the Competitive Arts to show off your skills

The Utah State Fair is fast approaching, which means it’s nearly time to get your annual fix of deep fried food and carnival rides. Where else can you feel a little childhood nostalgia, enjoy some live entertainment and take a bite out of a crackly candy apple in the same afternoon? 

The 2024 fair, held Sept. 5-15, is also the chance to admire all the hard work your neighbors put into raising cuddly — and not so cuddly — farm animals, growing impressive plants and making (and baking) fine art.

Think you could never raise a 250-pound pig? Maybe not, but you could take a compelling photograph of a beautiful sunset, or make a delectable chocolate cream pie. This year, instead of just observing the exhibits, enter the friendly competition yourself. You could just be the next blue ribbon winner, earning bragging rights and a little cash to boot.

Competitive Arts

For 2024, there are all-new divisions and classes in the Competitive Arts. Sakura Gallegos, competitive arts and programs manager for the fair, is looking forward to the expanded format. “I’m excited to see the variety and creativity that will be on display this year at the fair,” she said. 

There are eight categories of competitive arts that are open to everyone at the Utah State Fair. Find the division that matches your talent, and enter your best of the best. 

Competitive Arts include eight categories, from foods to crafts and art. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Agriculture

Do you have the best garden in your neighborhood? Maybe it’s the best in the state. Pick your best crops to enter this year’s green thumb event. There’s a division for the largest specimen, for those who like to let the produce go wild. There are also divisions for more practical-sized produce such as corn, peas and beans, herbs, onions and potatoes. If you grow the juiciest raspberries or leafiest lettuce, you’re a shoo-in.

And if you grow your pumpkins really, really big, enter the Giant Pumpkin Contest, an event recently sanctioned by the Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth. Officials are expecting 400-600 pounders. That event takes place Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.

You can use nearly any medium you like for the Creative Arts competition. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Creative Arts

All those traditional crafting skills that made a comeback in 2020 make up the Creative Arts department at the Utah State Fair. Basically, if you like to do crafts, there’s a division for you. Enter your finest work in any of the 21 categories, using a wide variety of materials including:

• Bisque and plaster

• Ceramics

• Clay

• Digital art (including AI)

• Flowers (dried and artificial)

• Glass

• Leather

• Metal

• Paper

• Porcelain/china

• Resin

• Stone

• Wood

The various categories have been updated for 2024, giving you more opportunities to show off your creativity.

Culinary Arts

The tastiest part of the Competitive Arts is the Culinary Arts — although, only the judges get to actually try them. Cooks can enter divisions from bread making to desserts. Yes, decorated cakes are back!

Have you perfected your grandma’s canned pickled beets? Enter them. If you make a mean hot sauce, jelly or syrup, the fair wants those, too. Divisions also include dehydrated and — new for 2024 — freeze dried foods. You can submit up to five entries, so you don’t have to decide between your jalapeño pineapple and raspberry lime taffy.

Fiber Arts

Not only does knitting and crocheting keep your hands occupied as you watch TV, you could be making the next winner in the Fiber Arts division. There are the traditional categories, such as blankets, but new this year is amigurumi — crocheted stuffed animals.

Intricate quilts are a standard, but fiber arts includes other mediums such as needle felting and tatting. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Some of the other handmade entries welcome in the friendly competition include needlework, tatting, rug making and weaving. Macrame, needle felting and wet felting were all added for this year, as well.

“There should be some new entries we haven’t seen before this year, which should be fun,” Gallegos said. Of course, favorites such as quilting and sewing are welcome, too.

All skill levels of artists are welcome to enter, from junior amateur to professional. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Fine Arts

Maybe you don’t have an art degree, but you can still show off your artistic skills in the Fine Arts division. Whether your talent is painting (oil, acrylic or watercolor), graphic arts or bronze sculpting, you can enter. There’s even a category for chalk art. Professional artists judge this contest.

Floriculture

Everything’s coming up roses! Or any other cut flower you like to grow. If you can keep your potted plant thriving, you may be a contender, too. Enter the Floriculture division to share your ability to grow or arrange beautiful blooms.

Know how to make flowers really bloom? Enter the Floriculture competition. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Horticulture

Maybe your talent is not only growing pretty things, but growing pretty things you can eat. If that’s your gig, enter the Horticulture event. Awards are given for best in state for apples and pears, pitted fruits (peaches, plums, etc.), grapes, nuts and berries. If you have bees do the work for you, enter the honey division. Sunflowers and corn stalks are even on the table.

Photography

Another one for the artists, share your ability to capture interesting people and places through photography. Divisions include fine art, black & white and monochrome. You don’t even need a standard camera to enter; there’s a division just for cellphone photos.

Show off your talents in the Competitive Arts and you could win a ribbon and serious bragging rights. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

How to enter

Any Utah resident age five and older is invited to enter the Competitive Arts. Entries are judged by division, so all skill levels are welcome, from junior amateur to senior and professional.

You can register on the Utah State Fair website until midnight on Aug. 25 for most departments. If you miss that deadline, you can still register onsite Aug. 29-31. Some divisions require a small entry fee based on your skill level (professional to amateur). First through third place winners, Best of Show, Grand Prize and People’s Choice will receive a cash prize and a rosette.

Culinary contests

If you’re more of a “Put me in, coach!” kind of competitor, sign up for the culinary contests. Bring your best breakfast to the Oakdell Egg Farms Cook off, or show off your sandwich-making chops at the Panini Palooza. 

Got some tasty treats up your chef’s sleeve? Join the Brownie Battle or Stirring Up Sweetness. Young cooks can get in on the action, too, in the More of What You Love: Cupcake contest and the new Favorite Family Recipe.

The Fair needs you! Sign up to volunteer. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Get involved

Competition is not the only way to get more involved in this year’s fair.

Volunteer

All the fun couldn’t happen without all the people behind the scenes. Volunteers are needed to run the exhibits during the 11-day event. Sign up based on your area of interest or expertise.

• Set up: prepare buildings, set up displays, hang banners

• Barnyard friends: clean animal pens, help with demonstrations

• Food demonstration: set up and clean up for the food demonstrations and contests

• Little hands on the farm: help young kids learn about life on the farm

• Creative arts

• Photography

• Fiber arts

Volunteer for the Utah State Fair →

Showcase your talent

You don’t need to have a Top 40 hit, or even a YouTube following, to perform at the fair. Sign up to star on the Pickin’ Porch stage, where you can play your banjo, fiddle or washboard to create toe-tapping old-timey tunes.

Share your talents on one of the stages. Photo courtesy Utah State Fair.

Food demonstrator

Whether you’re a professional chef, food blogger or a talented home cook, you’re invited to share your skills as a culinary demonstrator. Give tips for baking, barbecuing or whatever your specialty may be. Aside from the thanks and admiration of grateful attendees, you’ll also receive four single-day admission passes and free parking.

Apply to be a food demonstrator →

Paid positions

There are several paid job openings available during the fair, as well. Positions may include:

• Admissions

• Box office staff

• Competitive exhibits staff

• Facilities crew

• Gift shop staff

• Judge

• Usher

Find Utah State Fair openings on KSL Jobs

Sponsorship

Local businesses can help support the Utah State Fair with several sponsorship opportunities. Get your name in front of thousands of people and earn a little goodwill as a title sponsor, presenting sponsor or day sponsor. You can also sponsor events, competitions, demonstrations, educational exhibits and special events.

Become a Utah State Fair sponsor →

Discover things you won't find anywhere else at the Utah State Fair. Photo courtesy Linda Iverson Photography.

Infotainment

You know about the exhibits, contests, entertainment and food. The Utah State Fair is also your chance to sneak in a little learnin’. Visit the Agricultural Building, where fair educational partners share handy info about local agriculture.

• Wasatch Beekeepers

• Friends of Monarchs

• Cache Valley Giant Pumpkins

• Utah Native Pollinators

• Mountain View Mushrooms

Demonstrations

There will be all kinds of demonstrations to teach you creative art techniques such as lace tatting, woodworking and resin pouring. You can learn how beekeepers extract honey — and maybe get a taste of some. 

Fair play

The Utah State Fair is a great opportunity to see art forms you don’t see anywhere else, and some you may not even know existed. But it’s also the perfect place to share your homegrown time and talents. Get involved in a whole new way at this year’s fair.

“I hope fairgoers take full advantage of the opportunity to immerse themselves in the diverse and stunning work created by our talented exhibitors,” Gallegos said.

KSL.com is a proud sponsor of the 2024 Utah State Fair, which runs from Sept. 5-15. Download the fair app to find maps, daily schedules and event updates. You can even see where to find your favorite funnel cake vendor.

Thumbnail photo courtesy of Linda Iverson Photography.