Community 4-H Family

2026 Adult Open Show

  • April 21, 2026

Welcome to the 2026 Adult Open Show!

All Open Show exhibits till be checked in at the Auditorium entrance. Due to space limitations, judging will be closed to the public. During the fair, all Open Show exhibits will be displayed in the Auditorium.

Exhibit Check-in

  • Sunday, June 21: 3-5 PM - Crafts/Hobbies, Flower & Garden projects (Division II & III)
  • Wednesday, June 24: 8:30-10 AM - Foods (Division I)

Judging

  • Monday, June 22 - Division II & III projects
  • Wednesday, June 24 - Division I projects

Exhibit Release - Sunday, June 28: 2-3 PM

General Rules
  1. Any Tipton County resident may exhibit something he or she has made.
  2. There is a $1.00 entry fee per exhibit. Please provide cash at check-in.
  3. All exhibits must have been made within the past three years, and never before exhibited in the Tipton County 4-H Fair Open Class Exhibit.
  4. Each exhibitor may enter multiple items in each category.
  5. Champion and Reserve Champion ribbons will be awarded in each category.
  6. Each exhibit must be labeled with the exhibitor’s name, address, and category. No exhibit will be accepted without the proper label. Labels are available at check-in time or may be obtained in advance at the Tipton County Purdue Extension Office, 1200 S. Main St., Tipton, IN (Fairgrounds). Food preservation exhibits must be labeled with the required preservation technique and date infor-mation.
  7. No article that has a definite category may be entered in the miscellaneous category or another category.
  8. Food safety rules for food competitions: Raw milk, raw milk products or uncooked eggs/egg whites are not permitted. Eggs/egg whites that have been cooked to 160°F (i.e. pasteurized or included as part of a batter and baked) are acceptable. Home-canned fruits, vegetables, or meats are not permitted in products. Recipes must be provided that show which ingredients were used in each part of the product. Contestants should carefully wash their hands and make sure that their hands do not have any open cuts before preparing foods. Contestants should not be preparing food exhibits for competition within 48 hours of recovering from any illness. Whenever possible, baked products should be transported and stored in chilled coolers (41°F). Judges and individuals who will consume products from county and state competitions should be informed that they are at risk for foodborne illness since the established policy cannot guarantee that an entry which may be a "potentially hazardous food" has been properly prepared or handled before, during or following the competition. Tasting of a food product is solely at the discretion of the judge. Judges are NOT to taste any low-acid or acidified preserved food, like green beans or tomato products, and are discouraged from tasting any other home preserved food. Consumers of competitive food exhibits being sold at auction or used for hospitality purposes should be notified they could be at risk for foodborne illness since the established policy cannot guarantee that an entry which may be a potentially hazardous food has been properly prepared or handled before, during, or following the competition.
  9. Care is taken to protect all articles exhibited, but we cannot be held liable for loss or damage of exhibits.
  10. New Categories Were Added in 2024—Miscellaneous Foods, Woodworking & Collec-tions.

DIVISION I − BAKED PRODUCTS, FOOD PRESERVATION and MISCELLANEOUS FOODS

Rules:
  1. Recipes must be included with all exhibits. (Recipes will not be returned.)
  2. Products are to be placed on stiff cardboard covered with waxed paper or foil, or on disposable plates, and covered with plastic zipper-type bags.
  3. Preserved products must be in a clear glass jar specifically manufactured for home canning. Leave the band on the jar.
  4. All canned products must be heat processed following canning guidelines in the Ball Blue Book canning guide or the USDA guides.
  5. Label the jar with the name of the product, month, year and method of processing (water bath or pressure canner).
  6. Jars of preserved food may be opened at the judge’s discretion.
  7. See General Rule #8 (page 3) regarding food safety rules.

Category 1: Quick Breads
Category 2: Muffins − 3
Category 3: Cookies − 3, any type (drop, bar, molded, or cut out)
Category 4: Yeast Dinner Rolls — 3
Category 5: Pies – 1 fruit or nut pie, in foil pan
Category 6: Cake; can be iced or un-iced. No cream cheese, whipped cream, or sour cream frosting or filling in cake or decorations. Baked products should be brought to the fair from home refrigeration in an iced packed cooler in order to maintain a 40-degree temperature of the food.
Category 7: Vegetables – 1 jar
Category 8: Specialty Product – 1 jar (sauce, relish, pickles, salsa)
Category 9: Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Conserves, Marmalade, and Fruit Butters – 1 jar, Processed
Category 10: Miscellaneous Foods—Any food item(s) being entered in show that does not specifically fit any category listed above.

DIVISION II – CRAFTS AND HOBBIES

Rules:
  1. Items should be clean, finished and/or framed and ready for use.
  2. Photography exhibits must be salon style, one photograph, mounted on a 16”x20” matte board.
    Prints may be either black and white or color. Display one photograph, not smaller than 5”x7” or larger than 11”x14”. The photograph may be either surface mounted or matted on the board
    vertically or horizontally, but the matte board must be displayed vertically. Cover the board
    with clear plastic. Clear plastic salon-size sleeves (16”x20”) are available for purchase at the Tipton County Extension Office, while supplies are available.
  3. Sewing exhibits will be judged on quality of construction.

Category 1: Cake Decorating — Cakes must be created using a Styrofoam or other solid dummy.
Category 2: Wooden Decorator Item
Category 3: Wearable Art – Sweatshirts, T-shirts, Vests, Jackets, etc.
Category 4: Wreaths (all types) - Artificial arrangements
Category 5: Fine Arts – Framed painting or drawing
Category 6: Fine Arts – Items other than a framed picture
Category 7: Crocheting or Knitting
Category 8: Embroidery, Counted Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Plastic Canvas
Category 9: Holiday Craft Item (including holiday quilted items)
Category 10: Photography – Black & White Salon Print (See rule #2 on page 7 for exhibit size and display requirements.)
Category 11: Photography — Color Salon Print (See rule #2 on page 7 for exhibit size and display requirements.)
Category 12: Comforters and Quilts
Category 13: Handmade greeting card — any occasion, not computer made
Category 14: Woodworking—Any machined or hand made item made of wood.
Category 15: Collections—Any items you may collect as hobby.
Category 16: Miscellaneous Craft or Hobby- Other than Listed in #1—# 15

DIVISION III – FLOWERS & GARDEN
Rules:

  1. The Single Flower container is not judged as part of the exhibit; but containers for the Arrangement categories will be judged as part of the exhibit.
  2. No potted plants will be exhibited.
Category 1: Fresh Flower Arrangement
Category 2: Single Flower
Category 3: One Plate of One Type of Homegrown Garden Vegetables (example: 3 tomatoes, 3 onions, 3 peppers, 3 cucumbers, 3 kohlrabi, 3 beets, 3 carrots, 3 ears of corn in husk, 1 head cabbage, 10 wax or green beans, 1 egg plant, 1 squash, or 1 head broccoli)