TIMONIUM, Md. — Who says 13 is not lucky? The 2016 Maryland State Fair hit the jackpot in Las Vegas when it won 13 awards at the International Association of Fairs and Expositions Convention. The Maryland State Fair competed in Division 4 for fairs with attendance of 500,001 – 1 million.
The IAFE annually awards excellence in fair programming through four educational contests: Agriculture, Competitive Exhibits, Communications and Sponsorship. These contests allow fair members to submit award winning ideas and programs to be judged by IAFE member representatives and professionals from respective fields.
“This is a proud time for the Maryland State Fair staff members who work hard year-round to present high-quality, fun, and educational entertainment events for hundreds of thousands of fairgoers each year,” said Maryland State Fair General Manager Andy Cashman.
The Maryland State Fair received the following awards in the IAFE Agricultural Awards Program:
1st Place: Special Agricultural Educational Exhibit or Program to educate the Fairgoing Public about a Current Ag or Fair Industry Challenge. Award presented for the Maryland State Fair Oyster Alley where fairgoers, while sampling local oysters, learned about how Maryland oyster aquaculture has increased 48% leading to a healthier Bay.
1st Place and Best in Category: Innovative Way Technology is Used to Benefit Agriculture Programs at Your Fair. U-Learn Food featured an actual dining table with plates of Farm to Food items. A photo of the display on an adjoining computer screen enabled fairgoers to click on food items to learn about nutritional values and more.
1st Place: Unique Partnership for an Event/Competition Showcased During the Fair. Award presented to the Maryland State Fair and Maryland Farm Bureau for the enhanced 77th Miss Maryland Agriculture Competition. The event was upgraded to include a formal sit down dinner that highlighted Maryland agriculture products and an entertainment segment with The Peterson Farm Brothers whose farm parodies have made them YouTube sensations.
2nd and 3rd Place: Newly Established or Evolving Exhibit to Promote Agriculture to the Fairgoing Public. Award presented for U-Learn Farm for its traditional and new exhibits that included hands-on agriculture education displays including a 60-foot pivot irrigation system, a life-sized agriculture book reading nook with story-telling time by local librarians, and more. Also, awarded for U-Learn Food that transformed the previous Animal World exhibit to include interactive educational farm to table components, AG-Jeopardy games, and more.
2nd Place: Agriculture Programs Promotional Video. Award presented for Maryland State Fair social media video highlighting the new SPEAK program that provided the opportunity for youth with Autism and other disabilities to learn about and show sheep in the unFAIRgettable MY Maryland State Fair Sheep Show Ring.
2nd Place: Snapshot/Overview of Agriculture Program Participation and Trends.
The Maryland State Fair received the following awards in the IAFE Communications Awards Program:
2nd Place: Overall Social Media Campaign. Award presented for creating and implementing a variety of effective contests, ticket giveaways, and announcements among them a 135-Day Countdown posts, Hide & Go Sheep, Fair Family of the Day, unFAIRgettable Photo Contest to promote the 135th unFAIRgettable MY Maryland State Fair on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Yasabe, Google, etc.
2nd Place: Promotional Event. Award presented for Pokémon Go Day that utilized Pokéstops, Lures and Gyms within the Fairgrounds to engage and draw App users toward popular Fair’s agricultural and educational events and exhibits.
2nd Place: Mobile Web. Award presented for Maryland State Fair app that provided updated 135th unFAIRgettable MY Maryland State Fair schedule information, map and more.
2nd Place: Newspaper Ad – Award presented for 135th unFAIRgettable MYMDStateFair color ad highlighting different aspects of the Fair.
3rd Place: Electronic Newsletter. Award presented for electronic newsletter to expand awareness, build participation, and generate excitement regarding competitions and opportunities leading up to the Maryland State Fair for exhibitors and fairgoers from across the state.
3rd Place: Web Advertisement. Award presented for a variety of Maryland State Fair advertisements highlighting the UnFAIRgettable 135th MY Maryland State Fair theme.
The 136th Maryland State Fair runs from Aug. 24 to Sept. 4, 2017. For more information, go to www.marylandstatefair.com.
— Maryland State Fair