It’s Fair Season in Georgia!

GEORGIA FOLK AND FARM LIFE - It’s fair season here in Georgia, and the biggest do-dah of them all — the Georgia National Fair — is in full swing down in Perry. It’s the pride of the state, where the largest pumpkins, prize peaches, and perfect pies — and every manner of Southern craft and culture — are celebrated and judged. The smell of funnel cakes and livestock mixes with laughter and a brass band somewhere in the distance.

Excellence at any fair stands atop hundreds of years of careful tinkering, time-honored traditions, and well-guarded family secrets. A little espionage and good-natured skulduggery have surely taken place over the years — all for a shot at that coveted blue ribbon. Whether it’s the state’s best pickle or a prize steer, the stakes are high and the bragging rights eternal.

I’ve never known a prize pickle champion or a junior livestock show winner myself, but today, I can say this — my neighbor is royalty. The newly crowned Queen of Quilts, lives right down the road from our farm in the town of Winston, Georgia. Yes indeed — Ms. Nancy Hall, a longtime friend and master of the needle arts, took home two blue ribbons and one third place in the Needle Arts, Sewing, and Quilts division. When you’re hot, you’re hot — so hot that one of her blue-ribbon quilts even beat her own third-place entry!

Ms. Nancy wouldn’t reveal any trade secrets (nor would her husband and flying buddy, James), but her trusted cat Trudywas quick to spill the beans. Over the phone, Trudy purred about her long hours spent supervising the creative process — lying across fabric pieces, testing comfort levels, and keeping Nancy properly distracted during those “questionable placement moments.” I’m not saying Trudy took full credit for the stunning color alignment, but she certainly hinted at it. Around here, most good quilts — and a fair share of marriages — owe their success to a cat’s interference.

To celebrate Ms. Nancy’s reign as Georgia’s Exalted Quilting Queen, James took her to Big Doug’s in Hiram — the kind of place that knows how to treat a blue-ribbon winner. No Oscar, Pulitzer, or Nobel could dream that big. Those fancy awards come with small plates and big prices; Big Doug’s serves big plates, a meat-and-three, and blue-ribbon-worthy value.

So here’s to fair season in Georgia — to the pies, the pickles, the steers, and the stitches. If you’ve got a blue ribbon hanging somewhere, tell us about it! We’d love to brag on you too. ~Matt Jolley

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