After all that fuss yesterday, about how much I wanted to win a first place blue ribbon for one of my jams or jellies at the Jam, Pie and Chili Contest of the Santa Cruz Mountains Harvest Festival, I must still do without! Not only did I not win the ever elusive first place blue ribbon that I so desperately crave, but for the first time ever, I did not win second or even third place!
However, it is not as disappointing as it seems. There were no ribbons to win. There was only the same single prize for each of the three categories, which is a winter pass for the hot tub and sauna at the Bear Creek Recreation and Community Center of Boulder Creek. Although it is not the blue ribbon that I can flaunt and brag incessantly about, it is a fabulously generous prize.
What was more disappointing was that the Contest was canceled. For the Jam category, there were only two other contestants with only a few submissions, and neither showed up! How can that even happen? My six submissions were the only six to compete! It was even worse for the Pie and Chili categories, with only one contestant bringing pumpkin pie and two types of chili!
Yes, it was disappointing, but only briefly. No one minded that there were only identical pumpkin pies to vote for in the Pie category. In fact, we all easily agreed that they were the best pies in the Contest! Selection of the best of two types of chili in the Chili category was slightly more challenging only because no one wanted to say that one chili was less excellent than the other.
I still crave the elusive first place blue ribbon, but can easily do without it too.
Tony Tomeo 
I love this! It seems like these local shows are the same the world over!
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There is probably more interest in jam and jelly competition in other regions.
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Ah, well. Better luck — amd more competition — next year!
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More competition is more important. I would say that I don’t need luck to win, but after a few years of not winning, I no longer care to win. Besides, once I win, there will be no more incentive to do it again. Once I get my blue ribbon (if there ever is one again) I would not want to deprive someone else of the same.
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Maybe the competition is not advertised enough, especially to younger people.
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It was not advertised at all. On the website, the link to register for the contest was blank, so some who might have competed might have thought the contest was cancelled.
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Too bad.
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It was fun anyway. I will do it again, even if no one else shows up.
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A consoling thought could be that there was little competition because they all saw that you had entered and therefore they had no chance of winning. No ?
Love your humour !!
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Not likely. Those who competed in the past might remember that I never learned to coo properly, and that I am no good with flavor.
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How disappointing! Is participation in county fairs on the decline? Or perhaps in certain categories of contests and events….
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Oh, I will get over it. This was our regional Santa Cruz Mountains Harvest Festival. Jams and jellies are not a priority among the particular crowd. It is reasonably popular for a small Community.
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The horti shows have the same problems here
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That is unfortunate. Such lack on interest in horticulture is becoming increasingly common.
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Regarding your missing the blue ribbon — I looked at the jars there, and I have a few ideas. Silly me, they are just ideas. But some of your jar lids are showing rust, on the outside. I think that brand new jar lids or lids that have no rust on them make a better appearance. Since this is a food contest, it is always best for the best lids. Also, your marker labels are nice but what might be even nicer is a computer- or typewritten label. So that all doesn’t do anything for taste, but hey you just never know what the judges are thinking when they make their judgments about food. Hope you get blue ribbon next time you enter the contest. Meanwhile, keep on entering contests . Eventually that blue ribbon will be yours. 🙂
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The judges we had in the past do not judge on appearance. The jar is without a lid or label when they get it. We used to be asked to put labels on the lids so that there is nothing on the jars. The jelly or jam does not even need to be canned. The containers just gets placed on a grid of numbered squares. Supposedly, flavor, color and texture are judged. I think judges might notice if jelly is separated in the jar, or if there is a bit of foam on top. The judges just are not as critical as they are in larger contests. I remember seeing such a contest in Kitsap County in Washington, and it was intense.
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