Were you one of the 5000 people who attended the Chestermere Country Fair Red Ribbon competition last year who wondered who did all that judging? Wonder no more! You CAN be a judge. The Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies maintains a list of accredited judges to attend Fairs like the Chestermere Country Fair and judge entries in both youth and adult classes for baking, preserving, sewing, handicrafts, art, horticulture, and photography. The pre-requisites for becoming a judge are that you enjoy this sort of competition and will be willing to put in time to gain the experience and knowledge to assess the quality of entries. Judges are paid for time and travel. Here in Chestermere, the Chestermere Ag Society hires nine judges to complete all the judging between 6:30pm and 11pm the Friday evening before the Red Ribbon opens on Saturday morning. A judge’s accreditation is dependent on study and also shadowing a senior and experienced judges at a Fair such as Chestermere’s.
For those of you interested, this is a banner year. The Bearspaw and District Community Fair Association will be holding a workshop for judge candidates on Saturday, June 1st in Airdrie. There will be classes in judging art, photography, baking, handicrafts, horticulture, and preserving. This is a first step to becoming an AAAS accredited judge! Shadowing opportunities will then be available at the Chestermere Red Ribbon Competition Friday September 13th. If you are interested in attending or want to know more about becoming a judge you can call Pat 403 273 5108 or Jen 403 272 3764 with your questions. Meantime, find us on Facebook under Chestermere Country Fair!
