2026 Antrim Co. Fair schedule THURSDAY, AUG. 13 9 a.m. Flag raising, Silent Auction and Scavenger Hunt Open 9:30 a.m. Rabbit Judging, Divine Purpose Alpaca Farm 10 a.m. Kids Activity Tent Opens 12:30 p.m.Poultry Judging 3-5 p.m. Raven Hill 5 p.m. Scavenger Hunt Ends, Farm Olympics – fun farm games (Arena), Euchre, Still Exhibit Judging (exhibit building closed) 6 p.m. Campfire and S’mores 7 p.m. Worship at the Fair with Tom Ash and Kristen Molby FRIDAY, AUG. 14 9 a.m. Flag raising, Silent Auction and Scavenger Hunt Open 9:30am-2:30pm Lavender Camel Petting Farm – featuring camels 10 a.m. Livestock Judging (large animal barn closed) Kids Activity Tent Open 12 p.m. Cake Walk 1 p.m. Timed Obstacle Course (Arena) 3-6 p.m. Market Livestock Auction Registration & Dinner 3:30 p.m. Pie Baking Contest , Registration at 3p.m. 4 p.m. Pie Contest slices for sale 4 p.m. Canine Unit Demonstration (Arena) 4:30-6 p.m. Traverse City Mountain Dulcimer Band 6 p.m. Scavenger Hunt Ends, Market Livestock Sale SATURDAY, AUG. 15 9 a.m. Flag raising, Silent Auction and Scavenger Hunt Open, Pancake Breakfast – Sponsored by Antrim County Farm Bureau For more, go to www.record-eagle.com 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Minnow Races 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Kids Archery, Farm Swap (Parking Lot) 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Kids VBS – sponsored by Alba Freedom Fellowship Church, Adults Paint and Sip 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Petoskey Homing Pigeon Club 12 p.m. Pizza Eating Contest – sponsored by BC Pizza 1 p.m. Pie Eating Contest – sponsored by Bellaire McDonalds, Silent Auction Ends, Scavenger Hunt Ends 3 p.m. Rubber Ducky Parade – downtown Bellaire
BELLAIRE — Small but proud. That might sum up the Antrim County Fair, which for the third year in a row is hosting a pie contest as part of activities that run Aug. 13-15.
Prior to some recent funding cuts, the fair was four days long — and even at that was shorter than many county fairs.
“We call it a homemade, home-grown fair,” says fair trustee Teresa Cole. “We try to bring in educational events, demonstrations and things like that.”
Hence a schedule that includes a pancake breakfast, kids’ archery, farm swap, pizza-eating contest, animal exhibits and judging, farm games, euchre, scavenger hunt, and cake walk along demonstrations from groups like the Petoskey Homing Pigeon Club, among other events. Without glitzy features like a carnival or headline entertainment, organizers added the pie contest in 2024 as a way to offer a new attraction.
That first year, there were three entries. In 2025, registration exploded to more than 20. Between the bakers and their supporters and others who came out to try the pies — after the judging, pie slices are served with ice cream and sold to attendees — it created a lot of buzz.
“People like to bake and we advertise that the pies will be served for a fee as a fundraiser for the fair,” Cole says. “It brought more people in and brought some new people in that brought their pies and got to see what our little fair is all about.”
Yolanda Ayala of Bellaire was one of the 2025 contest winners. She took home a prize of $100 for her three-berry pie, crediting the fruit her husband picks fresh at nearby orchards for nudging her entry over the top.
She’s been making pies for more than 20 years, noting, “My kids and husband prefer a pie to a cake,” and plans to enter again this year.
Organizers including Jim DuFresne expect the 2026 contest will attract even more competitors. A longtime baker, DuFresne spent high school summers working on his uncle’s cherry farm and staying in his family’s turn-of-the-century home in downtown Elk Rapids.
“When my dad got ready to pass [the house] on, I was the only one willing to take on a 150-year-old money pit,” says DuFresne, who lives in Clarkston in the wintertime.
“I love Elk Rapids.”
He just happened on the Antrim County Fair when visiting Bellaire one summer day several years ago. “I was intrigued by it because it was so small,” says DuFresne, who recently became a fair member, and is in charge of the pie contest now.
At the time in 2023, the fair didn’t have a contest yet. It did have a culinary division where people could showcase their creations in different categories like canning and baking, for example. He entered with his Montmorency Cherry & Vanilla Pie.
“I won best of show in the culinary division for my cherry pie,” DuFresne says.
He went on to enter his cherry pie in the Northwestern Michigan Fair in 2024, winning in the best cherry pie division. “I entered that because I’ve been making cherry pie for a long time,” he says. “That was really cool because I got an engraved cutting board.”
Last year, he entered both fairs with a new twist — a tart cherry and almond pie that featured a bottom layer of Odense almond paste with a bi-color lattice crust. “It took some doing,” he says. “I reached out to the company that makes almond paste — I talked to a woman in the kitchen and she was intrigued about this guy entering a country fair competition.”
He had been having problems with the bottom crust turning soggy, which he resolved by double-baking it — first for about 10 minutes, then laying in the almond paste and cherries and placing raw crust on top for the final bake.
“I figured out how to crimp it around the partially baked bottom,” he says. “Then I baked it for another 20 to 30 minutes and got it to come out really well.”
While he took third place at the Traverse City fair, he didn’t win anything in Antrim County.
“My friends laugh at me once in awhile,” he says. “I’m 70, and I’m still competitive. Either I can play pickleball or do competitive pie baking.”
This year, he’s not entering the Antrim County contest, however. Instead, he’s judging — a role he takes seriously. For one, he has strong opinions about what makes a good pie and after extensive research has developed a new scorecard for judging.
“Basically, there are four categories for 100 points,” he says. “The first is initial appearance — before you even taste the pie, what do you think of it?”
Second comes crust, with filling a close third and fourth being overall flavor. That last one gets the most points. It’s got to taste good, he says.
DuFresne recalls being a contestant last year. “Of the 21 people who entered pies, there were 19 of us under the canopy tent watching the judge taste the pies,” he says. “It was cool. You could cut the tension with a knife.”
With likely more contestants this year, it’s probably going to be no less stressful for the entrants. Each has a shot at winning $100 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third.
The contest runs Friday, Aug. 14, with walk-up registration starting at 3 p.m. followed by judging. Winners will be announced between 4 and 4:30 p.m., when pies will be cut and sold by the slice. The fair is held behind Craven Park in Bellaire.
DuFresne can’t wait. “Four years ago when I had to go Bellaire and the Antrim County Fair was going on, I became enchanted by it,” he says. “I still am.”
Jim DuFresne’s Montmorency Cherry & Vanilla Pie (with notes)
Dough1 ½ sticks (3/4 C.) frozen unsalted butter
¼ C. cold vegetable shortening
2 ½ C. pastry flour (I use King Arthur Extra Soft Pastry Flour)
7 to 10 T. ice-cold water
I still make my dough by hand, using a pastry cutter to work in the butter and shortening and a fork to mix in the ice water. I begin by grating the butter using my 30-year-old Salad Shooter; it works great for that. I end up with two disks of dough that I wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour, but I think overnight is even better. I also use a metal bowl to mix the dough and chill it in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes before using it.
Filling
6 to 7 C. of fresh or frozen tart cherries, about a quart and a half if bought fresh. The amount of cherries depends on the depth of your pie plate. I use a 9-inch deep dish pie plate.
1 C. plus two T. sugar
¼ C. quick-cooking tapioca
½ t. salt
½ t. cinnamon
2 vanilla beans that have been scraped
Heat a heavy skillet over moderately high heat and then cook the cherries until soft and the juices have been released. This is a fast step, about 2 minutes, so you need to constantly stir the cherries before removing them with a slotted spoon. Do not overcook them, or they will lose their shape.
Add the sugar-tapioca-salt-cinnamon mixture to the juice in the skillet and stir until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir thickened cherry juice into the cherries along with the vanilla bean seeds. At this point, I also add the scraped vanilla beans to the filling and let it cool completely, 20 to 30 minutes or longer. I am currently experimenting with a pie that I leave the beans in the filling overnight to see if that intensifies the vanilla flavor a bit more.
I form the bottom crust in a deep 9-inch pie plate — I use Emile Henry pie plates — and then cover it with plastic and return to the refrigerator. To create a flaky crust, I think it is critical that the butter is kept as cold as possible until the pie is placed in an oven.
Montmorency Cherry & Vanilla Pie Montmorency Cherry & Vanilla Pie Dough • 1 ½ sticks (3/4 C.) frozen unsalted butter • ¼ C. cold vegetable shortening • 2 ½ C. pastry flour I use King Arthur Extra Soft Pastry Flour • 7 to 10 T. ice-cold water I still make my dough by hand, using a pastry cutter to work in the butter and shortening and a fork to mix in the ice water. I begin by grating the butter using my 30-year-old Salad Shooter; it works great for that. I end up with two disks of dough that I wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour, but I think overnight is even better. I also use a metal bowl to mix the dough and chill it in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes before using it. Cherry Filling • 6 to 7 C. of fresh or frozen tart cherries, about a quart and a half if bought fresh. The amount of cherries depends on the depth of your pie plate. I use a 9-inch deep dish pie plate • 1 C. plus two T. sugar • ¼ C. quick-cooking tapioca • ½ t. salt • ½ t. cinnamon • Two vanilla beans that have been scrapped. Heat a heavy skillet over moderately high heat and then cook the cherries until soft and the juices have been released. This is a fast step, about 2 minutes, so you need to constantly stir the cherries before removing them with a slotted spoon. Do not overcook them, or they will lose their shape. Add the sugar-tapioca-salt-cinnamon mixture to the juice in the skillet and stir until it thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir thickened cherry juice into the cherries along with the vanilla bean seeds. At this point, I also add the scraped vanilla beans to the filling and let it cool completely, 20 to 30 minutes or longer. I am currently experimenting with a pie that I leave the beans in the filling overnight to see if that intensifies the vanilla flavor a bit more. I form the bottom crust in a deep 9-inch pie plate — I use Emile Henry pie plates — and then cover it with plastic and return to the refrigerator. To create a flaky crust, I think it is critical that the butter is kept as cold as possible until the pie is placed in an oven. I fill my pie to within half an inch of the top and often reserve some of the juice to avoid flooding my lattice crust. I’m not always successful; cherry pies are awfully juicy. I actually weave my lattice crust, but after rolling out the dough and cutting the strips, I occasionally place them in the freezer for a few minutes, especially on hot, humid days. I return the fully built pie to the refrigerator for 15 or 20 minutes and then brush it with a wash of egg whites thinned with a bit of water. I finish off the top crust by lightly sprinkling coarse raw cane sugar. Most deep dish pies require 50 to 60 minutes in a 400-degree oven before the filling begins to bubble and the crust is golden brown on top. I like to let my cherry pies rest for at least an hour to allow the filling to set up so the first slice comes out clean. {related_content_uuid}d6b5bfb0-9506-43fb-a3a9-ff42016ed5b7{/related_content_uuid}