The Merced County Fair is launching its annual theme contest for the 2010 Fair and wetlands and water will be the theme of the 119th annual event. The deadline to submit theme suggestions is Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 at 5 p.m. The 2009 fair just ended, but planning for the 2010 fair has already begun, so the new theme must be selected soon.

The winner of the contest will receive $100 and two season passes to the fair. The second- and third-place entries will each be awarded a pair of season passes to the six-day event, July 20-25, 2010. The contest is for Merced County residents only.

“We think this contest will create a big splash in the community,” said Pat Kress, the fair’s Interim CEO. “This is a fun way to get involved in the fair, so start brainstorming and share your most clever theme ideas with us.”

Wetlands and water are important to Merced County. Agriculture is this county’s lifeblood and you can’t grow crops and raise animals without it. And preserving our wetlands are crucial to the balance of nature here.

The first-place theme will be used as the fair's theme. Once the winning theme is selected, there will be a contest to find a logo design to illustrate the theme. Each year the theme and logo appear on billboards, T-shirts, buttons, advertising, posters, programs, banners and on the fair's website to promote the fair.

To enter the competition, print or type the 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 delivered to the fairgrounds office, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, or mailed to the Merced County Fair, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Merced, 95341. Submissions should include the entrant's name, address and phone number. Information about the slogan competition will be available on the fair's website, www.MercedCountyFair.com

For more information, call the fair office at 722-1507.