The Merced County Fair is launching its annual theme contest for the 2012 Fair and California Cows will be the theme of the 121st annual event. The deadline to submit theme entries is Friday, July 29 at 3 p.m. The 2011 Fair was just last month but planning for the next fair has already begun, so the theme for next year's event must be selected soon.

The winner of the contest will receive a $100 prize and two season passes to the fair. The second- and third-place entries will each be awarded a pair of season passes to the fair. The contest is for Merced County residents only.

“If you’ve got some cheesy ideas for the fair’s theme, we'd like to see them,” said Tom Musser, the fair’s CEO, adding, “You might have a Grade A idea, but you can't win if you don't enter and you could end up with a sweet $100 prize."

Agriculture is huge in Merced County and cows, milk and other dairy products play a big role in our county's economy and at the fair – from the Grade A Milk Producers’ Contest and dairy showmanship to concessions and cooking contests.

The first-place theme will be used as the fair’s theme. Once the top theme is picked, there will be a contest to find a logo design to illustrate the theme. Each year the theme and logo appear on posters, fliers, T-shirts, advertising, programs, banners and on the fair’s website and Facebook pages to promote the fair.

All eligible entries will be assigned a number for judging. The numbered entries will be reviewed by the fair’s marketing/promotions committee before the winning entries are selected by the fair’s board of directors. The entrants’ names are not revealed until after the winners are picked.

To enter the competition, print or type entries on one piece of paper. Each entry must be five words or less and a maximum of eight entries per person can be submitted. No entries will be accepted that are the same or similar to other trademarked slogans.

Email ideas to Info@MercedCountyFair.com or entries may be dropped off at the fairgrounds office, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced. Submissions should include the entrant’s name, address and phone number. Information about the theme competition will be at www.MercedCountyFair.com. For more information, call the fair office at 722-1507.