STATE FAIR GOES HI-TECH; EXHIBITORS TO ENTER ONLINE

HARRINGTON, DE - April 3, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Information to Repeat
Dated Material: Do Not Run After 6/15/06

The very first Delaware State Fair took place in 1920 with the purpose “to have or manage a fair or exposition for the purpose of promoting and encouraging agriculture and of giving pleasures and diversions to the inhabitants of rural communities…”. To this day, a part of that purpose has included the display of thousands of exhibits, some agricultural in nature, others extending far beyond agriculture to simply providing pleasure—through sights, sounds, and smells.

Each year, tens of thousands of fair exhibitors submit their entries to be judged in hopes that their hard work will pay off. Thousands of awards are bestowed annually in categories such as culinary, arts and crafts, children, and more. However, the largest competitive programs continue to be agriculturally-based, a fitting tribute to Delaware’s largest industry.

Awards are based on a standard set of criteria and general rules outlined in the months prior to the Fair. Normally, these rules would have been found primarily in the Exhibitor’s Handbook, commonly referred to as the “Premium Book” due to the monetary premiums winners received for their entries. This year, however, all of the information needed to place entries online will be outlined in portable document files (.pdf) on the Fair’s website at www.delawarestatefair.com, “Forms”, “Exhibits”. Additionally, all of the entries will be received exclusively online.

According to fair officials, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information on the website as it is simply an electronic version of the pages normally printed and placed in book format. To view the Premium Book .pdfs, you must have installed the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader software on the computer you intend to use. This software is available online at www.adobe.com.

Fair officials indicated that announcements began last year that the Exhibitor’s Handbook would no longer be made available in printed format, and they added that the intent is not to exclude anyone from entering the fair but rather to create a more efficient process.

According to Tricia Southard, public relations and marketing director of the Fair, “We want to make sure that anyone who wants to display his/her works is able to do so. Many may have access to a computer at home, or at a family member’s home, at their work, or at a public library; however, anyone who does not have easy access to a computer is invited to contact the Fair’s main office, and our staff will gladly guide him/her through the process.”

All questions or concerns should be directed to the Fair’s administrative office at (302) 398-3269 ext. 200 or info@delawarestatefair.com.

Southard noted entries would be accepted on the following dates: April 3, non-livestock and contest entries; May 1, livestock entries; and June 5, horse entries.###