July is National Culinary Arts Month!

What are two traditional pastimes that make for some of the best summer memories? How about backyard grilling or making some other summertime recipe and going to the county fair? If you love to grill on the patio or the veranda or if you can make a pie, an icy beverage, or a frozen dessert that could take a blue ribbon, now you can combine the two and enter a Culinary Arts contest at the same time!

The Artisan Crafts gallery announces that during the month of July you can celebrate National Culinary Arts Month by taking a photo of a grilled main dish, a pie, an icy summer-time beverage, or a frozen dessert and include the recipe (the steps in sequential order that you made in the process of making your dish in addition to the ingredients) in the Artist's Comments section (see important copyright info under Rules & Information) and you could possibly win both a ribbon and a prize! If you would prefer, you can submit a collage of in-progress photos of your finished dish, but make sure that the focus of your deviation is the finished dish. You also have the option of submitting a Culinary film tutorial.

Here is the break-down of the five contest categories:

Grilling - What do you like best to throw on the grill? Can you make the world's best, most succulent grilled burger? Freshly caught trout grilled to tender perfection? Rotisserie chicken or maybe some grilled shrimp?

Pies - Here in the northwest, cherries picked at dawn have an unforgettable icy sugariness, I guess fruit is best after a night of cold desert air. Do you like to pick fruit that's in harvest? Berries will continue to be abundant, peaches are about to come in, and there'll be so much more even before the month is out. Bake a pie with something from the summer harvest (whether hand-picked or bought from the store).

Summertime Beverages - Have a favorite ice-cold summertime beverage? Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are both welcome.

Frozen Desserts - Do you like to make home-made ice cream? Or maybe you can make a sorbet, a gelato, or a granita?

Do-It-Yourself: Film - Give an in-depth tutorial by filming the progression of your dish. To submit to this category you will need film privileges; if you do not have said privileges then you will need to request them. You must show the final product at some point in the film. Please also include the recipe (the steps in sequential order that you made in the process of making your dish in addition to the ingredients) in the Artist Comments for easier reference. Please also refer to FAQ #842: How do I become a submitting member of the film community?.

Rules & Information:

More than one entry is welcome in any or all of the five categories, but you can win a total of only one prize. Entries must have been made and photographed after July 1, 2009.

Submit to: See You at the Fair! Contest gallery under the appropriate sub-category.

Dates: July 1, 2009 - July 31, 2009, 11:59:59 PM PST

Recipes: If your dish isn't an original recipe of your own but was based on someone else's recipe, do not copy/paste the recipe or copy a recipe out of a book into your Artist's Comments because that would be a copyright violation -- put it in your own words instead. Even better would be if you put your own creative spin on the recipe so as to make it your own or devise your own original recipe. If English is not your first language and you need spelling and/or grammatical help with your recipe, send a note to ^Kitten-of-Woe.

Judges: ^PurpelBlur, ^Kitten-of-Woe, $Moonbeam13, ^Platinus, ^dandelgrosso, ^snowmask, ^Thiefoworld, ^DeMaulwurfn, ^InpuUpUaut, ^Helewidis, and ^ArtisticAunJuli

Prizes: There will be three winners in each of the five categories. There will also be a Best of Show prize and the winner who takes Best of Show will be one of the 15 finalists from any one of the five categories.

1st - blue ribbon and One year subscription + Accessory Pack
2nd - red ribbon and Six month subscription + Emoticon Stress Balls
3rd - white ribbon and Three month subscription + dA Keychain
Best of Show - championship ribbon and a Fella Plushie + $50 devCASH

Questions? Send them to ^Kitten-of-Woe or to ^Purpelblur.