Blue-Ribbon Bakers

Such fairs go back to biblical times, according to Jim Tucker, president of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions, headquartered in Springfield, Mo.

"It's a showcase for a community, a place where you bring what you've grown, made, groomed or baked -- your pride and joy," says Tucker. "You offer it to the community and say, 'What do you think?' "

Winning bakers at fairs across the region have their own ways of beating the odds.

Clarksville resident Jane Radford relies on the law of averages. Radford entered 68 baked and canned items in this year's Howard County Fair and won 51 ribbons. Best in show went to her Italian Coconut Cream Cake.

"It was quite a shock. I didn't think it was up to the level of competition," says Radford, 48, who works for a construction firm. Months before a fair, she will browse through grange, Junior League and regional church cookbooks looking for ideas. "They have the tried-and-true recipes," she says.

At most fairs, baking competitors can create an original recipe, use one that has been passed down for generations or simply select one from a cookbook. Bread and cake mixes, with a few exceptions, are not allowed. And because refrigeration is not available, fillings and frostings may not contain uncooked dairy products.

Arlington County Fair grand champion Phyllis Treadway is quite familiar with the rules. She has entered baked goods every summer for more than 15 years and has taken first prize five times. This year she won the top spot for her Parmesan cheese pepper bread.

"I thought it didn't look too good on top and didn't rise right," says Treadway, 71, a retired day-care provider who comes from a family with 15 children and many fine bakers. "But everyone really liked it." For inspiration, she leafs through cookbooks "until I read a recipe that sounds really good, and I go from there."

Norma Jean Nelson, the best-in-show winner at this year's Prince William County Fair, says an easy way to join in the fun of a fair is to enter a cookie category.

"They don't take a lot of time, and you enter just four," says Nelson, 50, a professional cake decorator and administrative assistant at a Manassas church who has participated in the fair for 25 years. "Cakes take so much time."

Her winning blueberry cream cheese Danish found a fan before it even got to the fair: "One of my son's friends tried it and said, 'This is the most delicious food I've eaten in my life.' "

At the Fairfax 4-H Fair, held annually at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, Ryan Marlow was judged grand-prize winner for his pecan pie.