2023 State Fair Of Texas Arts & Crafts Contest Guide Now Available

DALLAS – March 16, 2023 – Texans, it is time to showcase your talent and creativity. The 2023 State Fair of Texas Arts & Crafts Contest Guide is now available for download online. The Creative Arts department holds pre-Fair arts and crafts contests each year, awarding the best entries from around the state. With more than 1,100 categories, there is a contest for everyone, including opportunities for youth. So whether you have an eye for capturing the perfect image through a camera lens or hands to create beautiful needlework, the State Fair’s Arts & Crafts contests are for you.

With more than 1,100 categories in 14 different pre-Fair contests, amateurs and professionals of all ages are presented with endless opportunities to have their creative entries under the spotlight. The Arts & Crafts contest departments include Fine Art; Ceramics and Hand-Painted China; Designer Craftsman; Dolls; Canning; Hobby Collections; Holiday Corner; Needlepoint, Crewel, and Counted Cross-Stitch; Needlework and Sewing; Afghans, Rugs, Quilts, and Bedspreads; Photography; Scale Models; Glue-a-Shoe; and The Great Pumpkin Challenge. 

While the 2023 Arts & Crafts Contest Guide is now available for download, registration for the 2023 pre-Fair contests will open online on May 10, with a deadline of Monday, July 24, to submit online entry forms and fees. Contestants can submit their entries via mail by July 24 or hand-deliver items to the Creative Arts building in Fair Park on August 4, 5, and 6 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. 

In the weeks following, they will judge entries and notify contestants once they finalize the results. Finally, they will display entries awarded a ribbon during the 2023 State Fair of Texas.

Creative Arts utilize and encourage participants to use the online registration system. The registration portal allows for creating a family account, which helps adults in the household to add contestants to the history and register any youth contestants. Youth contestants will have designated entries for the Creative Arts competitions, but they send all communications regarding those entries to the primary adult on the account. Although there are paper registration forms in the Arts & Crafts Guide that you can mail to the Fair, they recommend using the online registration portal to ensure contestants receive helpful reminders about the Arts & Crafts contests and judging results.

In addition to arts and crafts contests, Creative Arts host several cooking contests throughout the 24-day run of the Fair. While they will announce the 2023 State Fair of Texas Cooking Contest Guide in April, we are starting the fun earlier this spring! The State Fair of Texas is thrilled to introduce Battle for the Blue Ribbons – a new State Fair cooking competition consisting of three of the Fair’s most popular Creative Arts cooking contests: Cookie, Cake, and Bread, running from May 19 to May 21, 2023.

Contestants of all ages may enter to receive first, second, third, and honorable mentions. In addition, they invite all 45 blue-ribbon winners to compete in their respective contests at the Best of Show-Down in the Competition Kitchen during the 2023 State Fair of Texas on October 8, 2023. One contestant from each of the three contests will receive a Best of Show ribbon, allowing them to advance to a head-to-head battle for the Best of Show-Down grand prize! For more information about this specific competition, please visit BigTex.com/Battle.

For complete details on the Arts & Crafts contests, download the 2023 State Fair of Texas Arts & Crafts Contest Guide now at BigTex.com/Creative. In addition, sign up for the Creative Arts newsletter to keep up with all things Creative Arts, including the Cooking Contest Guide announcement. With various contests to choose from, the whole family can spend time together crafting. So get ready to register your creative entries on May 10 and start planning your trip to visit the Creative Arts building during the 2023 State Fair of Texas, opening Friday, September 29, and running through Sunday, October 22.