Who's got the best beets or pickled carrots? Which youngster has raised, trained, and groomed the best goat? How did that person craft such a stunning quilt?

It's the kids and animals, arts and crafts, flowers and preserves, and so many other daily features of country living that have come to serve as the backbone of country fairs for more than a century.

While country festivals of this sort are fewer and farther between nowadays, organizers of the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Country Fest are proudly striving to keep them a key component in their free summer fair. This year's Country Fest runs Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29.

With that in mind, they announced this week that their prize book for Country Fest 2012 is available online at www.mrpmcountryfest.com for those interested in participating.

The prize book outlines all the different categories that will be showcased at the fair, from arts, crafts, and hobbies, to beer and wine making, needlework, scrapbooking, photography, garden producing, and cooking, not to mention the young farmer and 4-H component and poultry show rules.

"All ages are welcome to enter, as there are both adult and junior sections," said fair manager Lorraine Bates.

Thousands of people each year visit the home arts and gardening building to see the exhibitors' projects made and displayed by a few hundred local people.

"Country Fest invites you to make the fair part of your summer and to share your masterpieces with the community," Bates said, noting that the deadline for entries and payment is Monday, July 16.

"If you do not have access to a computer our two local libraries offer that service or you can print off sections at the Country Fest office (on site at the Albion Fairgrounds)," she explained.

"Another option would be to go directly to the office and fill out the entry form available there."

rhooper@mrtimes.com