State Fair of Texas enthusiasts will have the opportunity to engage the annual North Texas tradition in a new way by showcasing their creative skills in seven fair-themed contests. The State Fair of Texas has announced the debut of new Virtual Creative Arts contests for 2020 on bigtex.com and their social media channels.

“After the cancellation of the 2020 State Fair of Texas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to providing as many participation opportunities as possible, which has involved using a whole lot of said creativity,” Kathy Bennett, State Fair of Texas creative arts and special events director, said.

Participants can choose from seven virtual creative arts contests. Four of the contests will be in arts and crafts and three will be cooking contests, according to the State Fair of Texas Virtual Creative Arts Contests handbook.

“The new virtual contests will allow the celebrations of creativity to continue, not only from our home in Fair Park, but from every home in Texas,” Karissa Condoianis, senior vice president of public relations for the State Fair of Texas, said.

Arts and crafts contests will include face masks, sidewalk chalk art, nail art and themed, decorated mantel or shelf. The three cooking contests will be in cake decorating, cookie decorating and mini butter sculpture.

“I think the contests are cool and I like the categories,” Amy Ariz, a Brookhaven College alumnus, said. “They are very on trend with the times. People are showing their creativity throughout this pandemic.”

The sidewalk chalk art contest allows for entries created from March 2020 to the registration deadline.

The mini butter sculpture contest is inspired by the annual butter sculpture that has taken residence in the state fair Creative Arts building. The sculpture is created by a local sculptor and has historically been molded to represent the state fair theme for that year. It has been showcased in a refrigerated display, according to a press release by Condoianis. This year, participants can become more than just spectators. They can become sculptors.

The contests are divided into various categories including the 2020 state fair theme “Celebrating Texas Icons,” Texas themed and Big Tex themed.

Entries must be the work of the contestant and contestants may enter all contests listed, with only one entry per class. Entry fees will be $2 per item.

Detailed individual contest regulations and specifications can be found in the Virtual Creative Arts contests handbook.

Registration for the contests opens Monday, Sept. 21. Participants have until Oct. 4 to register. Entrants will need to send photos of their submissions . Participants can register and submit their photos at bigtex.com/virtualcontests.

Contestants will be divided into three age divisions. Children 12 and under will be in the Child Division, contestants 13-17 will be in the Junior Division and entrants 18 or older will be in the Adult Division.

Winners will be announced on Oct. 9 on bigtex.com and the state fair social media channels. Winners will be awarded in each division for every contest. There will be a blue ribbon winner for first place, a red ribbon winner for second place, a white ribbon winner for third place and a yellow ribbon for honorable mention.