Submitted by San Juan County
San Juan County Parks & Fair staff are hard at work preparing for the 2024 San Juan County Fair! Did you know the San Juan County Fair used to be held near the Cannery Building in downtown Friday Harbor? It wasn’t until 1924 that the beloved event moved to the fairgrounds we still enjoy today. In celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the Fairgrounds, the department is pleased to announce this year’s theme: “A Century of Growing: 100 Years at Home.” Details for the annual Fair Poster Art Contest are listed below.
The Parks & Fair Department is also pleased to announce new dates for the Fair. Instead of running Wednesday through Saturday, this year’s event will run Thursday through Sunday to accommodate the carnival’s schedule and utilize both weekend days.
“While carnival logistics necessitated the change in days of the San Juan County Fair, I am extremely excited for residents on other islands to have more opportunities to attend their own County Fair,” said Parks & Fair Director Brandon Andrews.
This year’s Fair will run from Thursday, Aug. 15 through Sunday, Aug. 18.
Poster Requirements
• Submissions are accepted from all San Juan County residents.
• As the lead advertising and marketing image for the Fair event, each year’s Fair poster must have four key text phrases worked into the design: “San Juan County Fair,” the fair dates “August 15-18, 2024,” the 2024 Fair theme “A Century of Growing: 100 Years at Home,” and the fair website “www.sjcfair.org.”
• Concept must include some rendition of the theme “A Century of Growing: 100 Years at Home” and Fair elements (this is vague—could be the islands, farm animals, agricultural, summer season, carnival rides—sky is the limit!)
• Sizing must be an 11” x 17” (ideal size) or 8.5” x 11”
• Art can be any medium, but the final copy must be submitted in digital form (this is for printing purposes, and online sharing). The artist is responsible for producing the final digital image (high-resolution) so the work is properly represented.
Poster submission deadliness:
• A scan/photo of a “concept draft” sent to the Fair Board for consideration via email (email info@sjcfair.org). This can be a sketch, an outline or a partial piece depicting the intended design. The Fair Board may offer suggestions for design concepts.
• Fair Board reviews submissions at the regularly scheduled Fair Board meeting on March 8, 2024.
• The poster artist chosen is asked to produce the final digital version of the poster art by the April Fair Board meeting in 2024.
The Perks
• The artist will receive a limited-edition t-shirt for the 2024 Fair, tickets to the Fair and a Fair “swag bag” full of goodies!
• The artist exposure! Between the marketing and the press that picks up information on the poster artist, this is a great way to get your name out there and share your talent!
• The artist is helping a locally produced event, getting involved in your community, and participating in the largest county-wide event in the islands!
• The artist will join fellow artists in Fair history!
• The artist’s work is shared both locally and beyond via regional and local newspapers, online blogs and event sites, local newspapers and flyer boards, bulletin boards on all the ferry-served islands, as well as on ferries (artist name not permitted on ferry poster copies)
• The donation of the artwork is tax deductible (San Juan County is a political subdivision of Washington State. Contributions made to San Juan County are tax deductible under Internal Revenue Service Code Section 170(c)(1), which states: “a contribution or gift to or for the use of a State, a possession of the United States, or any political subdivision of any of the foregoing shall be deductible for Federal Income Tax purposes, but only if the contribution or gift is made for exclusively public purposes).
