The Future Farmers of America (FFA) held a Community Show in the auxiliary gym Sept. 30 thru Oct. 2. Out of all the items entered into the 45th Annual Linganore and New Market Community Show–such as flowers, vegetables, art, and baked goods (to name a few)–the cake contest was my favorite.

Cheryl Lenhart and Denise Shriver had the enviable job of judging multiple cakes, not only on taste, but appearance, smell, and texture.

Choosing a judge isn’t as random as picking people off the street. They had to attend school to be qualified to give their expert opinion, specifically the judging school of the Maryland Association of Agriculture Fairs and Shows.

They have volunteered at community shows before, but this was Shriver’s first time judging cakes. Lenhart has judged cakes before, and she said she particularly enjoyed coming to Linganore’s Community Show because “it was  the first time I’ve judged that many cakes at one time! There was less cakes at Walkersville,” where she has been chosen to judge before.

They recommend bringing a bottle of water and some crackers to refresh yourself in between each bite or every few bites. With so many categories and so many different varieties, both the ladies agreed it can get rather old pretty quickly. It also helps since the two women took about two hours to judge!

There’s a youth league, a junior, and an adult league. Their job is to choose their favorite and their second favorite from each age category. Every participant gets a ribbon and a chance to have their baked good entered into the auction.

The Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion (2nd place) cakes sell for several hundred dollars. 

Samantha Rhoderick, Charperson of the Community show, said, “All the proceeds are donated to the Community Show and back to the FFA,” which allows for similar future events.