RUN FOR THE RIBBONS BEGINS.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Calm and clear-eyed as only veteran exhibitors can hope to be, Nancy and Mike Rose coolly took stock Thursday of what they'll enter in this year's Lane County Fair.

Nancy Rose examined two jars of glistening jelly as she held them up in the bright sunlight.

"These are from two different batches," she said. "This one's a little bit clearer than the other. That's one thing the judges will be looking for."

They'll also check to see that the jar has been filled to within a half inch of the top - full, but not too full - and that the jelly holds its shape when tipped to one side, Rose said.

She'll enter three of her jewel-toned jellies - raspberry, raspberry-rhubarb and rhubarb - along with fresh and dried peppers and herbs, a loaf or two of homemade bread, cut flowers and even underwater photographs taken during the couple's frequent scuba diving trips.

"There's a million categories at the fair," she said. "But we only enter the ones where we think we have a good chance of getting a ribbon."

They often enter as many as 30 exhibits - and have amassed a considerable number of blue ribbons through the years, Mike Rose said.

Exhibits have been coming in at the Lane Events Center for nearly a week now, beginning with art, textiles, quilts, wine and beer. The big push starts the weekend before the fair - this year's six-day run opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday - when canned and baked goods, candy and photographs make their appearance.

Cut flowers and floral exhibits, live animals and agricultural products come in last, on Monday.

Alfretta Spores has been superintendent of the floral exhibits for so long that she "can't even remember."

Entering flowers at the fair is one of the more nerve-wracking categories, Spores said. Even the best of gardeners can't know what kind of blooms they'll have on the day they must cut their flowers to enter them in competition, she said.

"It's sort of a game of lotto," Spores said. "It really depends on the weather. Nobody ever knows for sure what will happen."

Judges in the cut flowers division look first for vivid color, she said. They also want to see "nice, fresh, green foliage, not leaves with bug holes or dust on them."

"If it's something like a rose, they'll look for a long, straight stem," Spores said. "The best flowers are the ones standing up straight and saying, 'Here I am; look at me.' '

The Roses don't know how many of their flowers will be saying that on Monday morning, but their years of experience at the fair have taught them to accept whatever happens.

With just a few days to go, their Chrysler Imperial red rose has no buds that look anywhere close to opening. A showy, deep orange-red rose called Opening Night "might be a possibility, but I'm not counting on it," Nancy Rose said.

On the other hand, her gerbera daisies, which won a first place last year, seem to be doing well, and there could be some gladioli or a dahlia ready.

"It's whatever happens to be there," she said, although even then, the guesswork won't be quite over.

"We have to turn the flowers in on Monday, but they're not judged until Tuesday," Rose said. "So you have to take into consideration what the temperature will be (in the exhibit hall) and how much they'll open overnight, before the judges see them."

Most other exhibits are predictable by comparison, she said, even though some people stay up all night cooking and baking, trying to create an ever-more-perfect entry in those categories.

It's enough to make showing dried peppers and zucchini seem like a breeze, although Rose said she's learned that the secret for winning ribbons with fruits and vegetables can be summed up in one word.

"Uniformity," she said. "It's not the best-looking vegetable that wins, it's the best-looking vegetables that all look alike."

She should know. Rose started her "career" as a fair exhibitor as a child in Walla Walla, Wash., more than 50 years ago.

"My first exhibit was for cucumbers, and I won a blue ribbon," she said.

"I overheard the judges talking, and one said, `Wow, who beat out the Lucarellis?' And it was my cucumber.'

"I've been entering things ever since. It really makes going to the fair more fun."

FINDING EXHIBITS AT THE LANE COUNTY FAIR

Last year, county residents entered a total of more than 1,900 items in the fair, in 10 categories. Where to find this year's entries:

Livestock and horses: Livestock pavilion and animal expo halls

Agricultural products: Wheeler Pavilion

Foods and canned goods: Performance Hall

Baking and candy: Performance Hall

Wine and beer: Gleason Atrium

Textiles: Performance Hall

Cut flowers and arrangements: Auditorium

Youth art: Events Center, South Meeting Room

Adult art: Performance Hall

Photography: Events Center, North Meeting Room

CAPTION(S):

Nancy Rose and her husband plan to enter about 30 items to be judged at next week's Lane County Fair, everything from rhubarb jelly to photographs.