But nothing, even that high security can compare with the county, regional and state entries for the exhibitors.

Exhibitors by nature are neighbors and friends. But that pretty much goes out the window come fair time.

Plotting and planning begins the day your entries, that have been under wraps, are brought in to be categorized and then judged.

To secrecy is important. You know you want to outdo your neighbor, friend, sister, mother, and if they are old enough your kids and spouses. Yes there are no holds barred. It is smack down versus Raw in the Fair competitions. And I can tell you nothing is more important.

You of course do not want anyone to know what you are making. Often opting for unreasonable times to do your creations or opting for other places. And you need safe secure places to keep your stuff. You never ever let anyone know what categories you are planning either. Unless you need that heat!

Secrecy begins when you sit with the previous years fair book to see what you are going to create. You obtain a small inexpensive notebook and a copy of the fair guide that is by now torn tattered, marked, erased and glued on. This is then written all over. "Do not open", "hands off", "Your dead if you do", and general terms like that, which often don’t dissuade the competitor. After all it is just a book.

But unknown to them who think they are getting the heads up on you, this is a dummy book, Full of old scribblings, pieces of newspaper, fabric swatches, and receipts. This is just a notebook placed in the open to leave your secret things alone. Very much like Wild turkey’s create dummy nests to keep predators away from the real nests, so too you take that hint and create a dummy book. In reality your book is hidden. Often so good that you cant find it, so you have to begin a new book and hide it again.

Your book often contains ideas, sketches, fabric swatches, and seed envelopes with notations on what came up good. And in it also is the very important, what won page. This is page of items that did well and you probably won’t be able to duplicate that success again. But that is ok. You can outdo it and them.

Secrecy then begins with the nickel and dime to acquire materials for the next show. Unless your family pulls together and has good natured " your going down" competitiveness, you will have to be diligent. You don’t want your husband to get you pectin if you both are making jelly or jam. He just might on purpose buy the wrong one just to sabotage you. If anyone in your family decides to enter the same categories, then they are the enemy! Yes, you have to be on your toes. Your recipes and projects even more so guarded now.

Then comes the trip to the store. As the year goes on and the next day comes closer your schedule will change. You will need red bull, energy drinks, because now you are working when everyone is asleep. The humm of the sewing machine the plob plob of the boiling canning pot. You’re now creating in secret. And you have a cover as well. You don’t want them to know what you are up to, so if someone comes down, you have a quick solid bin that you can dump your projects into and whip out a magazine of paper and no one is the wiser. But in reality, they too were coming down to do what you were doing, working in secret.

In your own home it is safe to say that secrecy can be undermined. But it can also work together.

However in the big world, it is even more intense. Members of groups that regularly meet to do crafts become CIA agents, trying to wiggle out of you what you are making so they know if their items will be better than yours. Do not underestimate your neighbors. They are conniving, especially with plates of cookies, salads, potluck dinners and book club meetings. These are really a ruse to get to know what you are making. And it works. Many an exhibitor has been undone by carelessly sharing pickle, relish, cake, cookie, fudge recipes, in a friendly neighborly manner, only to be foiled by her own recipe when that neighbor wins blue with it!

Yes it is not pretty. And men are included in this. Men sew, can, bake, weld, do woodworking, paint, and grow things. And their secrecy is even more intense. But they talk smack.

Now lets discuss talking smack for a moment. This is don’t to shake, rattle and either disclose or rattle your cage. They will say things that seem innocent, but in reality they want to know what item you are entering and if it’s a recipe they want to know which one. They will kid you and say things like, " your going down", or Cant beat me, are you sure you want to enter that? And so on. And what is more they will do that to their family. However when in the company of other men entrants, they are congenial, friendly and can be subversive in getting information. Example, "

"Nice corn Jeb"

"Yeah it is".

"Never saw such good looking corn, new seed?"

"Sorta, got it over at the co-op"

"Ahh"

To which the unsuspecting either gives him some left over seed, or the bag or the name or the price In any case, the exhibitor has got an idea of what will be his competition, as he already knows that " Jeb" enters corn every year. But this can also backfire, was it that years corn or not? See. Secrecy is the key.

Secrecy and the ribbon go hand in hand. Without secrecy and keeping your projects under tight wraps, and swearing under penalty of near death, no movies, cable being shut off, wireless phones being cancelled, your family will not divulge to anyone what is being entered, you are safe.

Now some people do tend to leave little clues. They may leave their fair list open and this is your chance to take a quick peek. A comment by other members at a group meeting might be passed that they are entering items, but they won’t divulge what. They do this on purpose in an effort to shake you or at least make you think twice about entering.

Yes entering exhibits in the fairs is top secret, stressful, fun and creative. You are always thinking of ways to beat others, but more importantly how to top what you did the year before.

Wrestlers can talk smack all they want on TV, but they have nothing on the fair exhibitors working the psychology on one another.

Oak Ridge may have top security secrecy about nuclear weapons, nuclear processes, contracts and etc. But they can learn a thing or two from the men, women and kids who enter the state and local fairs about tight lips sink ships..

AMSE http://www.amse.org/

------------

About the author: Julia Sherman is a CAM provider, Director of The Pointe Center (A diabetes and health education center). She is a Diabetes Educator for the NDEP Program through the NIH, A registered Pharmacy Technician, And IFA aqua Fitness instructor and Presidential Champion Fitness recipient, three times over and a teacher for health education in schools and member FCE and AHMA. She is Author of the self management handbook Factoring Diabetes.

Email: jimmysdevoted2@bellsouth.net

Comment on this article here!



------------

All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal).

	Web useless-knowledge.com