THE BIG E CALLS FOR CREATIVE ARTS SUBMISSIONS
Choose From Fine Arts, Foods and More!
The New England Center, home to the Creative Arts Competitions and Exhibits at The Big E, is the best place opportunity to show off the crafts, canning and other projects you’ve been working on since last September. Consider entering one of the many competitions available to display your proud works at the Fair for a curious, captive audience of 1.6 million fairgoers and countless likeminded crafters. Enter today at TheBigE.com.
All 17 days of The Big E, youth and adults alike peruse the carefully curated collection of creative entries on display in the New England Center. Whether they arrive on a mission and seeking out a special art piece to admire or happen upon the Center, perhaps while searching for a presentation or performance on The New England Center Stage or while picking up a Cream Puff from The Big E Bakery, foot traffic is aplenty, so your work will be regularly appreciated.
Departments include quilting, knitting, jewelry and beading, dolls, homemade ornaments, honey, granola, decorated cakes, pies and so much more. Find full department catalogs, rules for submission and more information at TheBigE.com.
The Plein Air competition is a staple of Creative Arts at The Big E. Applicants gather at the Fair to paint “in the open air,” outside as opposed to in a studio and recreate the fair scene before them, which is always bustling with guests and bright neon lights and stars and stripes. These talented painters capture the energy of the fair on canvases in real time, entertaining passersby as they walk through the grounds.
Cake Decorating is an excellent opportunity to show off your skills and promote your personal work or business. Last year’s competition was judged by Emmy-nominated lifestyle personality, Sandra Lee, and the winner was Allison Henry, owner of The Sugar Chalet in Wilbraham, Mass. This time around, participants choose between two themes: America 250, for the nation’s semiquincentennial, or “Unexpect Everything,” the guiding statement for this year’s Fair, which asks visitors to reflect on where else they can find pickles on donuts, Alice Cooper and butter sculptures in the same space.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for five larger-than-life statues of Chick-E, the Fair’s agricultural mascot, which have all been hand-painted in America 250-themed designs by students from Agawam High School, Holyoke High School, Westfield High School, West Springfield High School and Pope Francis Preparatory School in Springfield, Mass. Fairgoers can cast their vote for their favorite statue design throughout the Fair.
Applications are also available for individuals interested in giving their time to the Center, either as a helping hand or to demonstrate a craft or trade. The New England Center becomes more memorable when engaging volunteers and interactive exhibits are a part of the showcase, so we encourage you to sign up and get involved!
Most entries are due to the Creative Arts department by August 15, and the entry fee for most departments is $5 with few exceptions. Rulebooks and more to help guide your submission process are all available under “Competitions” on our website. We’ll see you at the Fair!