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DALLAS – March 20, 2024 – Texans, it is time to showcase your talent and creativity – the 2024 State Fair of Texas Arts & Crafts and Cooking Contest Guides are now available for download at BigTex.com/CreativeArts.
A time-honored tradition since the Fair began more than 137 years ago, the State Fair’s Creative Arts team holds pre-fair arts and crafts contests and Fair-time cooking contests each year, awarding the best of the best. With more than 1,100 arts and crafts categories and 25 cooking contests, there is something for every Texan—including opportunities for kids. Whether you prefer to display your artistry by cooking up tasty treats in the kitchen or through arts and crafts, the State Fair’s Creative Arts competitions 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 innovative entries under the spotlight. The 2024 Arts & Crafts Contests include Fine Art, Ceramics, 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 2024 Arts & Crafts Contest Guide is now available for download, registration for the 2024 pre-Fair contests will open online on May 8, with a deadline of Monday, July 29, to submit online entry forms and fees. Contestants can submit their entries via mail by July 29 or hand-deliver items to the Creative Arts building in Fair Park on August 2, 3, and 4 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. In the weeks following, we will notify the entries and contestants once the judges have finalized the results. We will display entries’ ribbons during the 2024 State Fair of Texas.
In addition to crafting, grab your kitchen utensils and put your culinary skills to the test in any of the 25 Creative Arts Cooking Contests. The 2024 Cooking Contests include Bread, Cooking With Cheese, Honey, the Magic Ingredient, Beekeepers Honey; Farm to Fork, Chocolate, Pizza Cook-Off, Best of Show-Down (invitation only), Play with your Food, Big Tex® Box Lunch, Soup or Salad, Ice Cream Freeze-Off, The Ultimate Grilled Cheese Challenge, Charcuterie Board; Youth Cooking; International Cuisine; Speedy Dishes, Fair Concoctions, Chicken or the Egg, Cobbler Cook-Off, Tex Mex, and Candy. The 2024 State Fair of Texas Cooking Contest Guide and the Cooking Contest Calendar are now available, with online registration opening on May 8 and closing Monday, July 29.
Additionally, The State Fair of Texas is thrilled to announce the return of Battle for the Blue Ribbons – the one and only State Fair spring cooking competition consisting of three of the Fair’s most popular Creative Arts Cooking Contests: Cookies, Cakes, and Pies, running from April 26 to April 28, 2024. Amateur home cooks of all ages may enter for first, second, third, and honorable mention. All 40 blue-ribbon winners will compete in their respective contests at the exclusive Best of Show-Down in the Competition Kitchen during the 2024 State Fair of Texas on October 6, 2024. 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 and to register, please visit BigTex.com/Battle.
Creative Arts encourages all participants to use the online contest registration system. The registration portal allows the creation of a family account, which permits adults in the household to add additional contestants to the account and register youth contestants. Youth contestants will have designated entries for Creative Arts competitions, but we send all communications regarding those entries to the primary adult on the account. Although there are paper registration forms in the Arts & Crafts and Cooking Contest Guides that you can mail to the Fair, it is recommended to use the online registration portal to ensure contestants receive helpful reminders and judging results of their respective contests.
For complete details on all Creative Arts competitions, download the 2024 State Fair of Texas Arts & Crafts and Cooking Contest Guides at BigTex.com/CreativeArts. In addition, sign up for the Creative Arts newsletter to keep up with all things Creative Arts. With various contests to choose from, the whole family can spend time together crafting and whipping up delectable treats. Get ready to register your creative entries on May 8 and start planning your trip to visit the Creative Arts building at the Most Texan Place on Earth during the 2024 State Fair of Texas, opening Friday, September 27, and running through Sunday, October 20.