Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition | Results of the Heritage Days Festival in Plain City, Ohio

A carving by Svetlana Partem for the Plain City Hertiage Days Festival competition

In April, I wrote a post about upcoming fruit and vegetable carving competitions, which included the Plain City Heritage Days festival competition on May 19th. Well, I got a first hand account from one of my readers,  Luis Rodriguez, who was a contestant in the Plain City fruit and vegetable carving event in May. This was Luis’ first carving competition!

Here’s a message that Luis wrote to me after his competition experience:

Hi Nita!

We did have lots of fun during the Heritage Day fruit carving competition, and got to meet great fruit carvers.  Attending gave me the opportunity to put some of your techniques to good practice, knowing that it was going to be a challenge ending up in 4th place was not bad at all for my very 1st competition.  Also it gives me a new view as of what to do if I want to compete in the future, and it is to bring new ideas, try something new and most of all, be even more creative.

After the competition my mind has not stopped thinking… What can capture the audience, and like you always say… What brings the Oohhhhs and Ahhhs…”

Thanks for sharing Luis and great work, by the way! Congratulations for having the will to push and challenge yourself by entering a fruit and vegetable carving competition – it’s not easy to put your skills on display in front of judges, especially if you’re a beginner!

My Student/Customer Luis Rodriguez Challenged Himself in His Very First Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition in Plain City, Ohio on May 19th

Here’s a great picture of Luis with his carving entry:

Luis won 4th place in the Amateur category in his very first fruit and vegetable carving competition

Luis made a wonderful display using some of the techniques taught in my online lessons. For example, the onion carvings are taught in my Onion Lotus Flowers DVD and Online Lessons – you’d be surprised at how beautiful onions can look when carved into flowers! You can also learn to make some of the melon flowers and roses in Luis’ display from my Carving Watermelons DVD and Online Lessons. These lessons are available separately or as part of my 11 Week Vegetable and Fruit Carving Course 101, which is a perfect course for beginners that covers a variety of carvings including fruit bouquets, a melon bowl, flowers and much more!

The apple swan in Luis’ display is taught in my Hearts and Roses DVD and Online Lessons. This is also a great course for beginners just wanting to try fruit and vegetable carving without having to purchase any carving tools. As the name suggests, you’ll learn to make all things romatic in this DVD lesson such as orange hearts, and beet roses. Check out my online shop to learn more.

Thanks again for sharing with us, Luis!

Winners of the Heritage Days Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition in the Professional Category

I want to share with you some results from the Heritage Days fruit and vegetable carving competition on May 19th. I hope these photos will inspire ideas for your own creations.

Here are photos of the top 3 winners in the Professional category at the competition. This was a people’s choice event where the pubic votes for their favorite carving arrangement. The most votes determine the winners.

This first place entry was created  by pro carver, Nocole Bennett, who carved a lovely tree of melons:

First place Pro sculpture by Nicole Bennett

The second place fruit and vegetable carving display was made by Svetlana Partem.

Second place Pro sculpture by Svetlana Partem

I really like the peacock carving and intricate flowers in Svetlana’s display.

The third place fruit and vegetable carving entry was by John Montgomery. Isn’t it amazing?

Third place Pro sculpture by John Montgomery

Winners of the Heritage Days Fruit and Vegetable Carving Competition in the Amateur Category

Here are photos of the top 3 winners in the Amateur category in Plain City on May 19th:

The first place title in the Amateur cateogry went to Shannon Gershimchik.

First place Amateur sculpture by Shannon Gershimchik

Shannon made some lovely pepper flowers and leek flowers for his display. You can learn different variations of pepper and leek flowers in my Fun with Peppers DVD and Fanciful Leeks and Onions DVD. These lessons are also part of my Vegetable and Fruit Carving Course 101.

The second place winner in the Amateur category was Maryse Richards.

Second place Amateur sculpture by Maryse Richards

The third place title went to Jayme Schumacher-Moore.

Third place Amateur sculpture by Jayme Schumacher-Moore

Didn’t they a beautiful job on all their fruit and vegetable carving entries? I know it took a lot of practice, patience and hard work!

Reminder Regarding Upcoming Fruit and Vegetable Competitions

If you missed your chance to compete at the Plain City Heritage Days Festival, there are more opportunities coming up. So if you’re in the area, I hope you can attend either as a spectator or a competitor!

Ohio State Fair

The Ohio State Fair Food Art competition is scheduled for  Tuesday, July 31, 2012.