Hello, everyone! If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that I’ve decided to take my cookie art competition fully virtual this year. When the That Takes the Cake show was canceled in February due to the pandemic, I couldn’t bear the thought of my competition not taking place, and of not having the fun of meeting (and challenging) competitors as I have for so many years. So . . . I’ve been making plans for it ever since.

First, a bit of background about my competition. It was the first juried cookie art competition in the United States, starting back in 2013 at the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show when Kerry Vincent, the show organizer, named her cookie division competition after me – and then asked me to run it! (How typical of Kerry! 😉 I miss her dearly!) It has since grown into one of the most closely watched and inspiring cookie competitions in the country, drawing top-tier sugar artists, not just cookiers, from every corner of the US and also from overseas. It was even filmed for a Food Network documentary in 2019. More importantly, it has become one of the most rewarding things I do in cookie-space; it’s my way of giving back to the cookie community that I love so much.

My 2021 virtual competition is targeted to launch its call for entries in late June to early July, and for judging to take place in October. In the meantime, I am trying to gather sponsors to make it the biggest and best of my competitions yet. Last year, we awarded over $10,000 in cash and gift certificates, and, this year, we’re hoping to top that! After all, our cookiers need some real rewards after the very difficult past year we’ve all had. I sincerely hope you will consider supporting the competition in 2021, as it is valued sponsor contributions that ultimately motivate cookiers to stretch their skills and expand the boundaries of cookie art and our community. All great things!

As you’ll see in the details of the Sponsorship Offering, the competition has two levels of sponsorship, with funds being deployed to support prizes for both 2-D and 3-D cookie categories and competition admin costs. We will be awarding first, second, and third prizes in each of these two categories. In an effort to streamline admin activities, we only accept cash and gift (product or service) certificates, no actual product donations. While we love the cookie community’s products, the receiving, packing, re-bundling, and shipping of them has been a very time-consuming and expensive proposition.

If you are interested in sponsoring, please confirm your donation (and its value) with me (sweetlife@juliausher.com) NO LATER THAN JUNE 7, 2021, PREFERABLY EARLIER. Company artwork, website link, and social media handles must also be received by June 7, 2021. All specifics for submitting these materials are spelled out in the Sponsorship Offering, which is also in the attachments below.  

Thank you in advance for considering support of my competition and its incredible competitors. If you have any questions at any time, please don’t hesitate to ask!