Children ages 5–18 can enter any number of Junior Division competitions, including arts and crafts, hobbies, cartoon art, performing arts, photography, and creative writing, not to mention traditional preserved food, horticulture, and floral categories. Do you have a prize-winning cow, goat, or chicken in the backyard? Kids can enter all sorts of livestock in the Fair. Don't have a farm animal? Don't worry — kids can also enter their furry friends in the Guinea Pig, Rabbit, or Pocket Pet (mice, rats, hamsters, turtles, and other critters) competitions.

There's bound to be something for everyone in the family to enter. My kids always love entering something in the fair, and it's thrilling to see what kind of ribbon you've won!

This year, there's a new category in the junior sewing division: Clothing Revisited, where youth ages 13 to 18 can submit any creation made from recycled and reconstructed clothing. This category was proposed to the fair by my daughter as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project focusing on fashion waste awareness. You can read more about her project here.

Entry fees for junior competitions are $2 with a $1 convenience fee per exhibitor. Enter online today!

This year the Marin County Fair takes place June 30–July 4 at the Marin County Fairgrounds near the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael. Visit www.marinfair.org for more information and to download brochures and access online entry forms for your fair entries.