“Learning and Growing – Sharing and Showing” is the theme of the 25th Silver Anniversary Harvest Show sponsored by the Colorado State University Master Gardeners of Jefferson County. The show is open to all gardeners. Echter’s Garden Center will host the show for the fourth year at their location at 5150 Garrison Street in Arvada from August 22nd to August 23th.
New this year will be a Junior Division open to all gardeners under the age of 18. Junior gardeners will have the opportunity to win ribbons by having their gardening results judged against their peers in all divisions. Junior gardeners will also have the opportunity to enter their exhibits in the regular show divisions if they desire.
Again this year there will be a special “People’s Choice” program that will allow participants and the viewing public the opportunity to vote for their favorite entries on display. Participants in the “People’s Choice” program will be eligible for a number of garden oriented door prizes that will be given out through a drawing at the end of the weekend.
The 2009 Harvest Show features eleven traditional horticultural divisions for competition and display. In addition there will be a division for the display of garden photography and a whimsical division for the display of homemade scarecrows. Exhibitors will also be able to interpret the show’s theme by creating artistic arrangements of floral and plant material in ten classes of the Artistic Design division. All Jefferson County Master Gardener apprentices are strongly encouraged to enter the Harvest Show. All Master Gardeners receive service hours for their participation
The Harvest Show is held to provide a friendly venue for display of horticultural material grown by gardeners and to provide educational material and tips useful to gardeners. A number of educational displays and exhibits will be on display, including the Jefferson County Plant Clinic, the Colorado Native Plant Society and several others.
“The show is a great opportunity for gardeners to display the results of their gardening efforts and learn helpful information and gardening tips from other gardeners in the area,” said Heather Hodgin, Jefferson County extension agent and member of the Harvest Show organizing committee. “In addition to displaying our horticultural material, educational exhibits will also be on display.” she said.
Show booklets and posters publicizing the event are currently available in the Extension office. Show booklets will also be mailed to all Master Gardeners in early August.
Master Gardeners are encouraged to take copies of the poster promoting the show and request that they be displayed at libraries, shopping centers, grocery stores and other locations throughout Jefferson County.
Registration for the Harvest Show will begin at Echter’s on Friday afternoon, August 22nd from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. and will continue on Saturday morning, August 23rd from 8:00 until 10:00 a.m. All entrants are encouraged to take advantage of the early check-in Friday afternoon if possible to avoid the Saturday morning rush. After judging at 10:30 a.m. all entries will be left on display during Echter’s normal business hours on Saturday and Sunday. Entries will be available for pickup on Sunday afternoon between 3:00 and 3:45 p.m. Any entries remaining after 4:00 p.m. will be removed.
Entry tags are available at the Extension Office, in the show booklet for reproduction, and on the Extension web site at www.jeffcoextension.org. The entry tag is the most important factor contributing to the smooth conduct of the show. All entrants are encouraged to take care in completely filling out their entry tags before they arrive at the show if possible.
Horticultural entries will be judged on consumer acceptability based on cultural perfection, quality, condition, uniformity and conformity. All entries must be grown or collected by the exhibitor except for entries in the Artistic Design Class 10. Each exhibitor may make only one entry per class or sub-class except where noted in the show booklet. Use of commercial leaf shine is not acceptable. Allowance will be made for hail damage when noted on the entry tag.
All Colorado Master Gardeners in Jefferson County are encouraged to earn service hours by participating as a show volunteer. In total about 75 volunteers are needed to have a successful show. There are many volunteer opportunities over the course of the three day event in seven different areas. Volunteer sign up sheets will be included in the Monthly Notes in July and August. All interested gardeners are encouraged to fill out the volunteer form and mail it back to the committee using the self mail feature on the form. Email sign up is also available.
Classes in the photography division have been redefined to include artistic photography, technical photography and all other photography that does not fit the first two classes. Photographers should keep the show in mind also throughout the summer as they look for photographic opportunities for display.
Additional information on the 2009 Harvest Show, show booklet, posters, entry tags and volunteer opportunities can be had by calling the Extension Office on 303-271-6620. The show booklet will also be available as a PDF document on the web at www.jeffcoextension.org.
Scenes from 2008 Harvest Show