One competition at the N.C. State Fair helps get Fairgoers in the holiday spirit. With just nine weekends to go until Christmas, the decorated Christmas tree competition will help inspire. This is a popular competition at the N.C. State Fair, since the number of trees available are limited, participants are chosen raffle style in September for participation. The winners are chosen based on creativity, overall design and theme conformance.
Sixteen-year-old Lillie Merrill of Sherrills Ford is a first-time competitor at the fair and earned a second place ribbon and $75 for her North Carolina-inspired tree. “My mom suggested using items from North Carolina to make the tree more special,” said Merrill. “I love Pinterest and found a video on how to make ornaments out of oysters. That’s how I decided on the idea. It SEEMED easy, lol. I went into two oyster bars near our house and asked for leftover shells. They were both so nice to give me a bucket each. I had no idea that they would be so stinky. We placed them in my moms car and could barely stand being there with all the windows down. It definitely was the start of an adventure. When we got home, soaked all of the shells in soap and bleach then went through multiple steps to scrub and clean them. After they were all cleaned, I set them out to sun dry. They weren’t stinky anymore. I had a few more than a hundred shells.”
Merrill, who is a student at Lincoln Charter School in Denver, painted the insides, decoupaged different North Carolina scenes, universities and state animals to the inside of each shell. When that dried, she sanded the edges, painted the edges with gold paint and then her mom drilled the holes for the hooks. “She broke four drill bits,” said Merrill. “We had no idea this would be such a project but in the end, they looked great.”
Merrill’s initial reason for entering the N.C. State Fair was to earn money to travel. I really want to go on a trip during spring break to see my best friend who lives in Michigan,” said Merrill. “My goal was to win as many of the contests that I could. I looked over the list and said “I can do that!” when I saw tree decorating. I love Christmas trees and my favorite time of the year is working at Grace Tree Farm starting the day after Thanksgiving.”
Merrill said it was fun to show up at the fair early and decorate. She and her family picked the smallest tree, not realizing the oysters would be really heavy. “We turned on Christmas music and got into the spirit. I had a lot of fun and I am excited to do it again next year. I do enter the national gingerbread contest every year in Asheville- I love a good competition.”
The Decorated Tree Competition is located in the North Lobby of Dorton Arena. Trees were provided by Brad Barick of Back Achers Christmas Tree Farm in Raleigh. Information on this competition and others is online at https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/ncstatefair/2024/competitions.