After a period of uncertainty, still exhibits will return to the Carbon County Fair this year under the new leadership of Ashley Mosier — a former 4-H member and agricultural business graduate — and Ann Fogle. The pair stepped in after the previous head of the still exhibits stepped down.

Mosier began her involvement with the fair in 2014, participating in the 4-H livestock club and showing animals. She went on to study agricultural business at Penn State and currently works in the commercial loan department at The Neffs National Bank.

“Having those different backgrounds, and working where I do now, it’s good for me to be involved in outreach,” she said. “I think the fair is just a great way to give back to the community.”

This year, she continues to volunteer with the 4-H livestock club while also co-chairing the still exhibits.

What are still exhibits?

Still exhibits represent the non-livestock side of the fair, encompassing a wide range of entries.

“Still exhibits are anything from plants to baked goods to crafts, anything like that — photographs, paintings,” Mosier said. “It’s just a way for people who maybe aren’t able to raise animals to exhibit things that they are able to do.”

She estimated that there are “over 100” categories of still exhibits this year, offering opportunities for a broad cross-section of the community to participate.

“Many people can grow a houseplant or do a craft,” she said.

Popular and competitive categories

Among the most competitive categories, Mosier pointed to fruits and vegetables, baked goods and children’s crafts.

“Everyone loves to show off what they grow,” she said. “We have a great outcome for that stuff. The kids love entering their crafts they made in school. There’s a lot of competition within the baked goods. People get to know each other from year to year. I think they look for a name and see — where did she place? Where did he place compared to me?”

New photo contest

The only new category for 2025 is a Northern Lights photography contest, with the idea coming from Fogle.

“When the Northern Lights were in Pennsylvania and we were able to see them, our Facebook was flooded — everyone had a picture of the Northern Lights,” Mosier said. “So we figured, well, so many people were able to take that picture on a simple iPhone. It’s such an easy thing to enter and a great way to get people involved.”

Judging and awards

Entries are reviewed by approximately 10 to 15 judges, each focusing on a specific department.

“Everything’s broken out by department. Every department has something different that they look for,” Mosier explained.

“For the crafts and things like that, they look for uniqueness and originality. For the vegetables, they look at more than just the largest vegetable — they look at quality, uniformity among multiple of them. The kids’ crafts, things like that, the judges are a little more lenient, but they look at seeing if the child really did it, and the same thing: uniqueness.”

Judges are typically given rubrics for consistency in scoring. Winners can receive monetary awards.

“We usually do first through fifth place,” Mosier said. “In some categories, first place is up to $10. In others, it’s more than that — for our apple pie contest, it’s $80.”

How to enter

The deadline for entering a still exhibit is fast approaching. All entries must be postmarked by Saturday.

“If somebody is interested in entering, they can either go on the fair website (www.carboncountyfair.com) — our premium books are on the fair website — or they can visit any of the locations listed on the website to get a physical copy,” Mosier said.

She emphasized that still exhibits are open to everyone, regardless of experience. “Something as simple as a houseplant or a craft you did 10 years ago can be entered,” she said. “It’s a really great way for people to get involved.”