Normally, my Competition Season consists of five different state and county fairs and collectives, beginning with the Iowa State Fair, following with the local Altamont and New York State Fairs, and finishing with the Big E and the Durham Fair.
Last year, I skipped the Durham Fair due to situations beyond my control.
And this year … although I have entries ready to go … I’m not entering them this year.
It’s nothing against the Durham Fair or its organizers. It’s just a scheduling issue. And a logistics issue.
Three of my five standard Competition Season entries require artwork that’s printed and foam-boarded at 11×14, while the Durham Fair requires images be printed at a 16×20 size. That worked when the New York State Fair’s photo specs were also 16×20; I could recycle images from one fair to the next and save some cash. Not so any more.
Also, unlike the Iowa State Fair and the Big E, where I can mail my entries to the organizers and they would mail them back once the show ended, I have to physically bring my entries to Connecticut, and then one week later I need to drive all the way back to Connecticut to pick them up – on the Sunday when the Fair ends. That’s becoming less of a chore and more of an adventure.
I’m also concerned about the Tilcon situation.
A few years ago, torrential rains poured through Connecticut, making the usual parking areas for the Durham Fair unusable – and forcing drivers to travel an additional five miles out of the way and park in the Tilcon stone quarry. Which, when returning to the parking lot after artwork pickup, meant you were walking around in pitch darkness, trying to find your car in unfamiliar settings.
In other words … it’s just not worth it for me this year.
Now don’t get me wrong – I have nothing at all against the Durham Fair or its organizers. They run a very competitive photo competition, and I’ve had success there in the past, including a couple of Best In Show entries.
But I have to consider all the factors – two round trips to Connecticut, for one. And honestly … I’m just not feeling it this year.
Maybe next year I’ll take the entries I’ve foam-boarded and bring them to Durham again.
But for now … I’ll skip this fair for 2024.
Which will make my entries at the Big E my final entries for Competition Season 2024.
And I’m okay with that.
Chuck The Writer 