Arizona State Fair

ARIZONA

Studies of last year's State Fair by JEN DIKE Studio.

ARIZONA WILL AGAIN BE on parade, beginning November 8, at the State Fair Grounds in Phoenix, the state's capital. For that is the beginning of the nine-day state fair, an event which bids fair to out-class any previous event of its kind ever held in the state.

Z. T. Addington, chairman of the state fair commission, and his cohorts, G. E. McDonald, Harry L. Nace, and W. L. Smith of Phoenix, Henry Rubinstein of Tucson, Fay Robb of Safford, and John M. Scott of Holbrook, new fair commission appointed by Governor Sidney P. Osborn, have gotten into their stride, even though they have been in office only a few months, and are planning a "bigger and better" fair to embrace all of the resources of the greatest state in the union.

No natural resource, no industry, no natural beauty within the 113,000 odd square miles which is Arizona have been overlooked in planning this long anticipated nine-day fiesta. A number of county exhibits will also be in place, and it is hoped that by next year, each of the 14 counties in the state will be represented.

In preparation for the fair, the grounds have been landscaped with flowers around all of the buildings, along the main walk, and the field in the center of the race track has been planted to furnish a blanket of bright green.

All of the buildings have been refurbished to give as attractive a background to the exhibit as possible. New lighting effects have been planned, too, to help the display. Each of the sixteen department superintendents has vowed that his department will be the "best" in the fair, and this healthy com-petition will, of course, make for a better fair.

Ben F. Ridge is superintendent of the cattle department; L. A. Johnson, dairy exhibits; Luther Smith, swine; Charles Sanford, sheep and goats; W. F. Fetterly, poultry; Emil Rovey, boys' and girls' club work; H. J. Horst, apiary; Mrs. Paul Hoagland, fine arts; Mrs. D. M. Downey, domestic arts; Mrs. C. P. Evans, domestic science; Walter P. Strong, agricultural and horticultural; Mrs. J. W. Currie, rural women's exhibits; W. J. Graham, minerals; Lloyd Henri New, Indian; Mrs. Byron J. Showers, floral; L. D. Lemmedson, vocational education. Paul F. Jones is executive secretary.

There will be 197 classes in which awards will be made, with more than 1,700 separate lots going to make up the classes. Competent judges in each of the departments have been chosen by the commission, assuring the careful awarding of the ribbons.

As Champion or sweepstakes winners will be given the royal purple ribbon; first premium winners will have the covoted blue; second the red; third the white; fourth the pink; and the fifth the yellow.

As would naturally be expected, the greatest number of awards will be made in the agricultural and horticultural departments because of the diversified crops which are raised in the state. Here there are 430 lots to be judged in 25 classes.A glance at the splendid 188-page catalogue of the fair makes one's head swim with the vast number of things which are raised here.

There are classes for peaches, grapes, plums and prunes, pears apples, pecans, citrus fruit, vegetables of all kinds, potatoes, sweet potatoes, dates, dry farm products, corn, threshed wheat, threshed grain and seed of other kinds, threshed grain sorghums, beans, sheaf, head and stalks exhibits, cotton, hay, lettuce.

There is a large class for miscellaneous products which willinclude olives, quince, persimmons, strawberries, avocados, pomegranates, figs, walnuts, almonds, raisins, and sorghum molassesquite an array for one state to produce!

STATE FAIR

BY DOROTHY CHALLIS MOTT In the vegetable class, asparagus, brussels sprouts, beets, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sweet corn, swiss chard, cucumbers, carrots, celery, egg plant, endive kohlrabi, musk melons, onions, okra, peas, peppers, pimiento, fresh and dried chili, parsley, parsnips, pumpkins, radishes, rhubarb, spinach, salsify, squash, turnips, tomatoes, watermelons and citron, will be judged.

The cultural development of the state will not be slighted either for the fine arts exhibit will reach new heights in excellence under the supervision of Mrs. Hoagland. Oil, water color and black and whites will be featured along with sculpture, and competition will be open not only to Arizona but out-of-state artists as well.

In the domestic arts field, the women will have their day, with classes for girls under 9 years old, from 14 to 18 years, over 70 years, and ordinary adults. Sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, weaving and other handicraft will be entered for competition. And in the domestic science field, there will be competition in bread making, cake baking, pies, candies, canned fruit, preserves, jams and jellies, pickles and relishes, and other cooking fields. Rural women will compete with clothing exhibits, home furnishings, hobby and craft exhibits, and canning classes.

Furthering the interest of boys and girls of the state in various farm pursuits will be one of the chief aims in that department. All boys and girls between the ages of ten and twenty who have been active in club work will be eligible for competition in livestock judging, poultry, rabbits, sheep, pigs, dairy cattle, agricultural, and cooking, meal planning, canning, clothing and other classes.

Encouragement to the arts and crafts of the state's Indian population will again be given this year, with an even greater display of basketry, rugs, silver and beadwork being planned. The Indian exhibit, always a popular one at the fair, will be no exception this year.

The mineral building, a source of wonder to those not familiar with that great resource of the state, will be the home of every variety of mineral products of the state for the nine-days of the fair. Minerals, this year, will be of especial interest due to the emphasis of their importance in the national defense program.

The floral exhibits, featuring calendulas, chrysanthemums, cosmos. coxcomb, dahlias, gaillardia, daisies, oxalis, petunias, pinks, roses red and roses white, and dozens of others, will be one of the bright spots on the fair grounds as well as one of real beauty.

Of particular interest will be Armistice day which has been named "National Defense Day." Members of the various military posts of the state will be guests as will members of various service groups.

November 13, Thursday of the fair, will be given over to the "golden jubilee" celebration of the Arizona Educational Association which will be meeting in Phoenix for its 50th convention during the fair.

Additional feature at the fair will be the Cherry and Rubin Exposition, rated by those who have already seen the exposition at other places as the "greatest show on wheels."

A race meet each afternoon at the fair has also been planned. Charles W. Green, well known to horse lovers and breeders in Arizona, has been engaged by the fair commission as general superintendent of the fair, this year.