How to enter this year’s Pahrump Fall Festival Arts and Crafts/Food and Horticulture Exhibit.

It’s officially September, which means the Pahrump Fall Festival is only a few weeks away and the Shadow Mountain Quilters are putting out the call for everyone in the area with creativity, culinary skill or a green thumb to get their best work ready for display and enter it into the Fall Festival Arts and Crafts/Food and Horticulture Exhibit.

“We really just want to get the word out, letting everyone know, hey, it’s coming and we want our community to get involved,” Shadow Mountain Quilter and exhibit chair Joyce Higginbotham told the Pahrump Valley Times this week. “The cost to enter has always been just $1 per entry, unless you’re under 12, in which case, it’s free. People can enter as many things as they want and there are 398 categories, so no matter what you like making or doing, there is something for anybody!”

In the Arts and Crafts portion, categories include everything from different genres of acrylic, oil and watercolor painting, drawing, digital art, various types of photography, beading, clay art, gourd art and papercraft, to woodworking, needlework, quilting, knitting and much more. For Food and Horticulture, the categories are just as vast, ranging from dozens of types of preserved foods and confections to freshly grown produce in an array of varieties and ornamental plant entries such as cut flowers, cacti, bromeliads, flower arrangements and more.

“We even have a Lego category for the kids,” Higginbotham detailed. “And when there is a craft that comes along that’s popular, we’ll add that as a category, too. For example, right now, diamond painting is really popular.

“And it’s open to all ages. We’ve had entries from kids as young as a year and I love to see the kids, that’s the most fun thing ever. When they bring in their entries, most of them are really shy and then, when they come back to see their entry, if there is a ribbon on there, they get so excited!” Higginbotham enthused. “A lot of the younger people, especially students, they really get behind themes and this year’s theme is awesome, it’s Stars, Stripes and 250 Years Strong. So, I expect we’ll get a lot of entries that are patriotic, which will be great.”

For those interested in participating in this longtime local tradition, intake for entries will take place the Monday and Tuesday before Fall Festival weekend, which gives the organizers time to set everything up and allows for two days of judging before the exhibit officially opens to the public on Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26.

“It’s a full week’s work before we open to the public. We really work hard to do the intake, do the judging, get everything in place and get the ribbons on. We don’t want any mistakes and we check and recheck to make sure all the ribbons are correct. And we want it to look pretty so the public can really enjoy it,” Higginbotham explained.

The Shadow Mountain Quilters have helmed the Arts and Crafts/Food and Horticulture Exhibit for many years and Higginbotham has been chairing the event since 2013 but, she is now preparing to relinquish her role and is hoping someone in the community will be willing to step forward to fill her place.

“I’d love to have someone come along and shadow me during the festival, just to see what it’s like. Sometimes, people get afraid of doing a job because they think it’s too big but, really, this isn’t. It’s just a matter of having a good team you can work with,” Higginbotham said. “The month leading up to Fall Festival gets very busy and there are a lot of behind-the-scenes things going on. It takes some time but it’s not overwhelming and it’s fun because I always think about what it’s going to be like when it’s done. It’s been a good 13 years for me but my health is telling me it’s time to step away.”

Entry forms, rules and a full list of categories for the Fall Festival Arts and Crafts/Food and Horticulture Exhibit are available on the town of Pahrump’s website, PahrumpNV.gov. Entry forms are also available at the Pahrump Tourism Office and the Pahrump Community Library or can also be completed right on-site during intake, which takes place Monday, Sept. 21 and Tuesday, Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“It’s easy to enter, it’s fun to do and like I said, there is a category for everybody, so come out and take part,” Higginbotham encouraged. “We’ve got to keep those old arts and skills alive.”

Anyone interested in volunteering at the exhibit or potentially taking on the role of exhibit chair should contact Higginbotham.

For more information, email joyceinpahrump@gmail.com or call her at 775-253-4885.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com