When Prudy Mook found out that California cows are the theme of the 2012 Merced County Fair, the elementary school teacher was "udderly" thrilled and knew she just had to enter the annual theme contest.

"Everybody loves cows," said Mook, adding, "I started thinking about the Cyndi Lauper song, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," and I imagined a herd of cows just dancing around having fun!" Mook entered eight slogan ideas and "Cows Just Wanna Have Fun" was the cream of the crop.

The first place winner in the theme contest was selected from 394 entries by the Fair's Board of Directors. The theme commodity for the 121st fair is California cows.

Mook will receive $100 for her theme idea and a pair of season passes to the next fair, June 13-17, 2012.

Mook, who lives in Atwater, is getting ready to begin the new school year at Burbank School in Merced, where she teaches third grade. She has been teaching for 29 years. Each year when teaching her students about Merced County, agriculture always plays a big role in their instruction.

"Talking about agriculture in the classroom is very important, " she said. "We really emphasize the importance of agriculture in our county." Being a teacher, she also appreciates making learning fun. "The fair helps teach our kids about how important ag is to our Valley."

Mook is "mooved" her entry won the annual contest, remembering past fairs when her children were in 4-H and showed rabbits. Now her kids are grown and she can't wait to go to the fair with her husband and grandchildren. "The fair is just a neat thing to do with your family – it's perfect family entertainment." What's her favorite thing to do at the fair? "I love looking at the animals and eating fair food."

The contest's second place winner was "Shake, Cattle 'n' Roll," submitted by Joy Gort of Merced. Gort, who works for the Merced County Association of Governments, MCAG, as an administrative assistant, came up with the third place winner in the 2011 competition.

Pamela Pruitt of Dos Palos, took third place honors with her entry, "California Cows – Udder Madness." She's employed at California State University, Fresno, helping provide agriculture students with support services including fundraising for scholarships and managing endowments.

The second and third place winners will each receive a pair of season passes to the fair.

Now that the 2012 fair has a theme, the next step is to find a winning graphic design to go with it. The fair is sponsoring a contest to find a logo that best illustrates the theme. The deadline to submit entries is Friday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.

The creator of the top design wins $500, a pair of season passes to the fair, and the satisfaction of seeing their artwork used to promote the fair on everything from posters, T-shirts and advertising to schedules, the fair's website and Facebook. The competition is open to Merced County residents only.

"This is a great opportunity for our community's talented artists to create some fun and clever designs for our logo contest," said Tom Musser, the fair's CEO.

The fair's Board of Directors will select the first, second and third place graphic design winners at their October 10 board meeting. All eligible entries will 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 board. The entrants' names won't be revealed until after the winners are picked. The second and third place winners will each receive a pair of season passes to the fair.

To enter the contest, artists may use any medium and submit a maximum of three entries on 8-1/2 by 11-inch paper. All entries become the Merced County Fair's property and won't be returned to the artists. The winning entry may be altered for marketing purposes.

Entries may be submitted to the fairgrounds office, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way or mailed to the Merced County Fair, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced CA. 95341. Submissions should include the entrant's name, address and phone number and a copy of the following statement with your signature: "The logo entry (entries) are the artist's own original, artistic creation and intellectual property."

A news release and photo about the logo winners may be issued by the fair. Information on the contest will be available at www.MercedCountyFair.com. For more information, call the fair office at 722-1507, fax (209) 722-3773, or email to Info@MercedCountyFair.com. Visit the Fair’s website, www.MercedCountyFair.com and connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.