After years of chasing ribbons for everything from my prize Brussels sprouts to peppers to zucchini at the annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in Gaithersburg, I knew exactly where to look when I walked into the Farm and Garden building on Sunday to find out what, if anything, I had won this year.
To the left and right were rows upon rows of produce and flower entries, but my eyes were on the platform in the center: a tiered, circular tower of glory. The place of honor for the best of the best awarded the biggest of the ribbons.
Every year, I submit entries to the fair because as a former athlete, I love a good competition. I also am following in the footsteps of my mom and dad, who have a corner in their basement festooned with their own ribbons. Planning for my entries starts at the conclusion of the prior year’s fair: I plan my garden and start seeds when it is still cold. Late spring and summer mornings are spent weeding and watering the garden, then canning and pickling after the sun sets. This year, I also chose an embroidery project to finish, sewed a Godzilla Halloween costume for my youngest son and made matching Christmas pajama pants for our family of four.
On Sunday, I had come to the fair from Rockville with my 5- and 7-year-old sons who were more interested in checking out their own entries than mine, but gamely walked around the center platform with me as we gazed at the loveliest roses, flawless tomatoes and intricate floral displays.
I had almost completed my lap when my eyes spotted one of my entries, a small basket display representing the fair’s theme of “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” My entry featured okra, tomato and pepper seeds along with fresh okra, tomatoes and peppers from my garden and canned pickled okra, salsa and pepper jam made in my kitchen—my idea of the perfect produce presentation of the theme.
And next to it: a blue first-place ribbon, a grand champion ribbon and—could it be?—a best of show banner!
I jumped and hollered and danced for joy. If there had been a competition for making a fool of oneself, I would have no doubt won that, too. In more than 30 years of entering hundreds of items in the fair, I have never received a best of show. I have no idea of how many hundreds (thousands?) of entries I beat out, but I had.
I could have walked out of the building and been promptly run over by the tractor trolley and I would have died with a grin on my face.
Instead, I texted everyone from my retired horticulturalist dad whose roses often win big (“Congratulations! You’re carrying on the tradition! I never had a best in show.”), to my fellow fair buddy hoping for her own winnings to my Facebook pals (141 likes, hearts and wows).
My boys and I found the rest of our entries. Some, including my son’s marigold and my pint of Brussels sprouts, won first place ribbons. Others, including my tomatoes and eggplant, didn’t merit an honorable mention. Even with a dry summer, the competition was fierce.
From the Farm and Garden building we walked to the Home Arts building where I had entered samples of seven flavors of jams and jellies, plus my cross stitching and sewing projects.
Competing is a family affair for the Orndorff clan. While my dad dominates in Farm and Garden competitions, my mom is the master of Home Arts. Her jams are set just right. Her knitting is nonpareil. Her embroidery is superlative. I have spent years refining my jams and embroidery to rise to her level.
This year my big entry was an embroidered pattern on linen in shades of blue. And this year, blue attracted blue: Next to my picture hung a champion ribbon. I jumped, hollered and excitedly told those who happened to glance my way what I had accomplished. One man even shook my hand. My strawberry rhubarb jam (with rhubarb from my garden) and blackberry jam both won first place and the rest of the entries received a rainbow of ribbons. (Weep not for my mom, she received champion ribbons for a knitted, cream-colored sweater as well as her collection of jams.)
Though my ribbons bring me great joy, there is still one prize I crave: I want to be a HOTY– Homemaker of the Year.
The Homemaker of the Year is the person who receives the most blue ribbons in at least six departments (think jams, cakes, quilts, embroidery, crocheting and sewed clothing). Gaithersburg’s Karen Johnston, 65, who was crowned HOTY last year entered 157 items in 16 divisions and won at least one blue ribbon in 14 of them. She was awarded a tiara that she can wear that sets her apart from us commoners.
This year I knew I would not be the HOTY because I had not entered items in six departments. In addition to being a mom and a wife, I am a full-time editor at MoCo360 as well as a volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver serving at least 14 hours a week. I still have much to learn and limited uninterrupted time. As it is, my husband deserves credit for keeping the boys out of the kitchen while I ladled molten jam into jars.
So no HOTY crown for me this year. But on Tuesday I am celebrating by returning to the fair and buying my boys wristbands to ride all the rides they want. I’ll cheer on the pigs as they race around the track, savor a funnel cake and a fried Oreo, and I will surely run into neighbors and friends and congratulate them on winning their own ribbons.
And then I will go back home and begin planning for next year.
Amy Orndorff is the managing editor of Bethesda Magazine.