The 2015 Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving competition is coming up soon. Here’s a look at last year’s entries and winners.
Quite a few talented carvers competed. They created a variety of creative arrangements. There was an amateur and a pro division. In this article, I’ll show you the contestants and winners of the professional division.
1st Place “People’s Choice” Winner

Titus Arensburg won 1st place in the People’s Choice, Professional division at the Ohio State FAri Fruit Carving Competition with his whimsical “School Bully” display.
In the professional division, the contestants did the carving in advance, then assembled their arrangements within a specified time period. The winners were decided by the popular vote of the attending public.
Later, there were a few timed events that challenged the carvers to carve a watermelon in only 8 minutes and 12 minutes.

Here is a closer look at Titus’s school of fleeing fish and his carved vegetable chain in the foreground.
2nd Place Winner

Shannann Gerasimchik’s clever crocodile made of pineapples won 2nd place.

Closer look at the open mouth of Shannann’s open mouthed crocodile complete with carved taro fish.
3rd Place Winner

Sveltana Partem’s beautiful gazebo filled with carved birds and flowers won 3rd place.

Here is a closer look at just some of the intricate details of Svetlana’s 3rd place arrangement
Other Pro Contestants at the People’s Choice Division of the Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving Competition

Aneta Lekas,who is a customer of ours, traveled from Canada to compete. She later won a different competition with her watermelon peacock that you see near the top of her arrangement.

Trent Mason created this humorous roasting dragon.

This mushroom garden complete with caterpillar high on the left was created by Dave Smith.

Chad Hartson created this charming 3 Little Pigs arrangement.

Brian Edwards with his creative Ohio State Fair carving entry.

Dean Murray built a wizard’s castle complete with broccoli trees.

Closer look at Dean Murray’s Korean radish wizard
Timed Watermelon Carving – Pro Division
There was also a couple of timed events at the Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving competition. Carvers showed off what they could carve in only a few minutes. Here are a few of the results.

Svetlana Partem carved this lovely watermelon flower in the 12 minute competition
I like how the following two watermelon carvings have 3 dimensionality. They were carved in only 8 minutes.
It’s not too late to get involved in the Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving Competition. You don’t have to be a pro. There is an amateur division, too.
Amateur Division
The only photo I have from last year’s amateur division is this one that was sent to my by a customer / student Trang Pham. It was her first competition and she won the 2nd prize.

This was customer/student Trang Pham’s first competition. She won the 2nd prize in the Amateur division.
If you are available to compete at the Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving Competition, I highly recommend it. You’ll find that competing also has the benefit of motivating you to improve your skills to the next level. One of the best benefits of participating in events like this is that you’ll have a lot of fun meeting other carvers and getting great ideas.
You can see all of the details about the Ohio State Fair Fruit Carving Competition by downloading the Entry Form here.
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