Although it may seem like the Fair just ended, the San Juan County Parks & Fair staff are already hard at work preparing for the 2025 San Juan County Fair! As we look ahead at our hopes for the Fairgrounds, the department is pleased to announce this year’s theme: “Into the Future, True to Our Roots.”

“The San Juan County Fair Board chose this theme as a continuation of the 2024 celebration of ‘100 Years at Home,’” said Fair Board President Barbara Bevens. “We celebrate our past and our values while looking to the future.”

Now that the theme has been announced, San Juan County residents are invited to enter the annual Fair Poster Art Contest! Details are listed below, and we couldn’t be more excited to see what our community creates!

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 “Aug. 14-17, 2025,” the 2025 Fair theme “Into the Future, True to Our Roots” and the fair website “www.sjcfair.org.”

The concept must include some rendition of the theme “Into the Future, True to Our Roots” and Fair elements (this is vague – could be the islands, farm animals, agricultural, summer season, carnival rides – sky is the limit!)

Sizing must be 11 inches by 17 inches (ideal size) or 8.5 by 11 inches.

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 deadlines

A scan/photo of a “concept draft” must be sent to the Fair Board for consideration via email (email info@sjcfair.org) no later than Dec. 9. This can be a sketch, an outline or a partial piece depicting the intended design. The Fair Board may offer suggestions to design concepts.

The Fair Board will review submissions at the regularly scheduled Fair Board meeting on Dec. 13.

The chosen poster artist will be asked to produce a final digital version of poster art by the January Fair Board meeting in 2025.

The perks

You’ll receive a limited-edition T-shirt for the 2025 Fair, tickets to the Fair and a Fair “swag bag” full of goodies!

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!

You’re helping a locally produced event, getting involved in your community and participating in the largest countywide event in the islands!

You’re joining fellow artists in Fair history!

Your work is shared both locally and beyond via regional and local newspapers, online blogs and event sites, bulletin boards, as well as on the ferries (artist name not permitted on ferry poster copies).

The donation of your 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”).

Contact: Amanda Smith, events coordinator, amandas@sanjuancountywa.gov, 360-370-7457.