CBS3 SummerFest: Many Are Hoping To Earn A Blue Ribbon At The Middletown Grange Fair
WRIGHTSTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) - From plump produce to colorful flowers, mouth-watering baked goods, and handmade arts and crafts, it seems one can find just about anything at the Middletown Grange Fair. But this part of the fair – is a competition. And everyone is chasing that elusive blue ribbon.
"It could be someone as little as 4 years old bringing their Lego projects. It could be someone all the way up to 93 years old. And it's very competitive," Fair Board of Directors Lynne Bowen said.
And a competition is nothing without its judges.
"We get to show what's the best," judge Dan Osterman from Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania said.
Osterman has been judging desserts at the Grange Fair for more than two decades, with no end in sight.
"They'll have to pry me out of the seat probably," he said. "I'm a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. I was a chef for over 30 years. I've since retired."
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On this day his tough task is finding not only the best chocolate chip cookie but the best cookie bar, too.
"So the first thing I do, is which one do I want to eat first, and I'm probably going to go with these two," he said. "When you're judging, you have to be looking at everything. Every little detail counts. It's presentation and then flavor, and ultimately flavor wins out overall. And unfortunately, it's subjective, it's what I like. And I'm the judge."
Over in produce though, George Perry doesn't take one bite.
These fruits and vegetables are judged on appearance and have to be close to flawless to get a blue ribbon from him.
"You need to have uniformity first. And then you come to trueness to variety," Perry said. "We also look for any blemishes, insect or disease. And the one that has the least problems gets first place. I've done it long enough where you know what the ideal is, and then you base it all from there."
Perry has been a judge at the Grange Fair for more than 50 years. Not far off from the fair's 71-year history.
He's seen many "Best in Show" crowned and from year-to-year - it's always an unpredictable treat.
"When something comes up for best in show, everyone around here, it's like a buzz. Here, you have to try this. We just had a pepper jelly that was amazing, and we're all over there trying it," Osterman said.
The Middletown Grange Fair a tradition that has come to span generations. The ultimate prize - though - has never changed.
"They get to take their blue ribbon home and say 'I won first prize at the Grange Fair,' bragging rights," Osterman said.
