In addition to our Champion's competition this year the current Champion, THL Elsbeth von Sonnenthal is issuing a special challenge to any entrant - Shire member or not who wishes to enter. There will be prizes for the winners in each category. THL Elsbeth and visiting dignitaries will judge these three categories.

A Clever Covering of a Mundane Thing (or things).

We all strive to make our surroundings look less modern and more medieval yet there are certain things we cannot help but bring with us as necessity or convenience. Yet.... with a little imagination we can enclose them, cover them, camouflage them, or cleverly put them out of sight in order to fit into our medieval environment. The Shire of Granite Mountain invites you to put your creativity to the test and display these clever ideas in our A&S contest. In this contest you are to show how to cover or camouflage a modern thing that you might have at any given event. The item can be big or small....and remember the more clever you are the more likely you will be to get the populaces vote. We encourage every entry to be imaginative, functional, and decorative.....

Poetry Writing: Subjects are, Merry Month of May or The Shire of Granite Mountain

All entries are best if done in Calligraphy and are also decorated with Illumination (colored decorative pictures/borders) (adult and child categories)
Winners will appear in the "National Squire".

Best Non Alcoholic beverage:

The Summer Sun beckons us to take a sip to quench our thirst. Can you come up with the perfect way to beat the heat? Entries must be of a homemade recipe (not store bought). Plenty of the mix must be on hand for samples for voters. Presentation is an added bonus! Please bear in mind that you must provide a way to keep your beverage cool. All ingredients for the beverage and must be provided on index cards for entry. We will provide the cups for tasting!