Rock Creek Fall Fair exhibitor deadlines approach, with $700 in prizes
Exhibitors hoping to take part in this year’s Rock Creek and Boundary Fall Fair have two September deadlines to keep in mind, along with a contest offering $700 in special prizes.
Entry forms for animal, poultry and livestock exhibits must be received by Thursday, Sept. 10, while all other exhibit entry forms are due Tuesday, Sept. 15. The fair says no forms or additions will be accepted after the deadlines.
The deadlines apply to registration, not the physical exhibits themselves. Non-livestock and livestock exhibits are to be brought to the fairgrounds on Friday, Sept. 18, between 1 and 7 p.m. The exception is 4-H dog entries, which may arrive Sunday morning in a designated area.
The 81st Rock Creek and Boundary Fair runs Sept. 19 and 20 under this year’s theme, “Gold Pans & Cattle Brands.”
Exhibit categories include vegetables and fruit, flowers, baking, preserves, photography, art, crafts, quilting and other needlework, along with poultry, rabbits, beef and sheep.
Most exhibits can be entered without a fee. The fair’s rules list exceptions for its Beef 3 Year Challenge and beef and sheep carcass classes.
This year, exhibitors who enter multiple items can also qualify for the fair’s Go for Gold contest.
Gold panning is one of the themes of this year’s fall fair.
Adult exhibitors aged 19 and older who enter and display at least 15 eligible exhibits will have their names entered into a draw. Another draw entry is added for every additional 10 exhibits, to a maximum of eight entries for someone displaying 85 or more.
Children and youth aged 18 and younger qualify after entering and displaying at least eight eligible exhibits and receive another entry if they reach 15.
The contest includes ten $50 prizes for adults and eight $25 prizes for children and youth, for a total of $700.
Entries from the pavilion, agriculture, poultry and small-animal categories can be counted toward Go for Gold. Open livestock, horse and 4-H categories are excluded.
Exhibitors will also have to leave generative AI out of their entries.
The fair’s 2026 rules require entries to be the result of human creativity and skill and prohibit work created in whole or in part using generative AI software. For photography and artwork, the rules go further: images must originate as photographs taken or artwork drawn by the exhibitor, and AI cannot be used to generate, alter or “fix” an image.
Entry forms can be submitted online through the fair’s AssistExpo portal, emailed to the fair office, mailed or dropped off at the fairgrounds office at 3880 Kettle Valley Road South in Rock Creek. The office accepts drop-offs on weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The Rock Creek and Boundary Fall Fair runs Saturday, Sept. 19 and Sunday, Sept. 20.
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