The Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation hosted the third annual t-shirt design contest for the 2026 Kansas State Fair. Online voting took place on Facebook until May 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

The votes are in! The winning design received nearly 300 votes via Facebook “Like.” It was a close turnout with this design winning by around 70 votes. Hutchinson really showed up and showed out with all the winning looks in the adult division designed in the Kansas State Fair’s hometown.

Adult First Place

And the winner is… Janice Richardson of Hutchinson, KS! Her winning design is pictured below.

The first-place prize package includes:

• Winning design is produced to sell at the 2026 Kansas State Fair 
• 4 T-shirts with the winning design
• 1 Kansas State Fair Family Package
  • Includes: 4 gate passes, 2 punch cards (good for the Train, Big Slide, Sky Ride, or Old Mill), 1 ride sheet, and $20 in food coupons
• 4 tickets to the Grandstand concert of your choice (unless the preferred concert is sold out at the time the winner is announced)
• $50 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Congrats also to our second and third place winners who will also be receiving a Kansas State Fair Prize Package!

Adult Second Place

Second Place: Jenni Winters of Hutchinson, KS with more than 220 votes!

Second-Place Prize Package includes:

• 1 Kansas State Fair Family Package
  • Includes: 4 gate passes, 2 punch cards (good for the Train, Big Slide, Sky Ride, or Old Mill), 1 ride sheet, and $20 in food coupons
• 2 tickets to the Grandstand concert of your choice (unless the preferred concert is sold out at the time the winner is announced)
• $40 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Adult Third Place

Third Place: Kristen Green of Hutchinson, KS with more than 150 votes!

Third-Place Prize Package includes:

• 4 gate admission passes
• $30 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Adult Runners-Up

Of course we want to thank all of the finalists as well!

Thanks to Joel Morris of Hutchinson, KS and Shane Kromka of Wichita, KS as runners-up in the contest! You can see their designs featured below.

Youth Division

Top three winners of the Youth Division also receive a Kansas State Fair prize package! Participants were given the same criteria and followed the same process as the adult division.

Youth First Place

And the winner is… Dani Peters of Holton, KS! Her winning design is pictured below.

The youth first-place prize package includes:

• Design printed on Foundation’s choice of merchandise to sell at the Kansas State Fair 2026.
• Kansas State Fair Merchandise Package – $50 Value
• 1 Kansas State Fair Family Package
  • Includes: 4 gate passes, 2 punch cards (good for the Train, Big Slide, Sky Ride, or Old Mill), 1 ride sheet, and $20 in food coupons
• $50 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Congrats also to our second and third place youth winners who will also be receiving a Kansas State Fair Prize Package!

Youth Second Place

Second Place: Leisl Green of Hutchinson, KS!

Youth Second-Place Prize Package includes:

• 1 Kansas State Fair Family Package
• $40 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Youth Third Place

Third Place: Trevin Burhenn of Bushton, KS!

Youth Third-Place Prize Package includes:

• 4 gate admission passes
• $30 food gift certificate for the Foundation’s 1861 Club on the Fairgrounds (good during 2026 Kansas State Fair only)
• Certificate of Award

Youth Runners-Up

Of course we want to thank all of the youth finalists!

Thanks to Taliya Mata of Great Bend, KS as the runner-up in the youth division contest! You can see her design featured below.

Thank You to All Participants

We definitely don’t want to forget to thank EVERYONE who submitted one of the nearly 50 designs to the third Kansas State Fair T-Shirt Contest and to everyone who participated by voting and sharing the contest on Facebook!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Want to see ALL the designs? Check out the post linked below!

Additional Info

The top designs in both divisions were judged blind and chosen by the selection committee before going into the final round of public voting, which took place on the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation’s Facebook page. Votes were accepted via Facebook “like” until May 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

The winning designs from each division will be produced and sold at the Official Kansas State Fair Merchandise Booth and the top 3 vote recipients will receive a special Kansas State Fair prize package provided by the Foundation. 

Participation in this contest supports improvements to the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Funds from the t-shirt sales will go towards renovation projects to improve our historic Kansas State Fairgrounds.

First Friday E-Updates are THE place to stay up to date on all future news and events at the Foundation. Sign up for our email list here!

Contest Timeline

Mar 6, 2026 – Original Contest announcement in March First Friday E-Update

Mar 29, 2026 – Original Design Submission Deadline

Apr 3, 2026 – EXTENDED DEADLINE ANNOUNCEMENT

Apr 26, 2026 – Extended Entry Deadline

May 1, 2026 – Facebook voting on the top 10 designs (5 adult division and 5 youth division) opens in the May First Friday E-Update

June 5, 2026 – Winners announced in the June First Friday E-Update

Guidelines

Submission Details

• Entries should be submitted via email to the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation at info@ksfgf.org
• The EXTENDED entry deadline is APRIL 26, 2026.
• The entry should be accompanied by your name and contact information including mailing address, phone number and email (including supervising adults’ contact information for youth division entries).

Design Details

• The design must contain the year “2026” and the words “Kansas State Fair” and represent an aspect of the Kansas State Fair, its facilities or traditions.
  • This year is the 250th anniversary of the United States of America and the 35th anniversary of the Little Red Schoolhouse on the Kansas State Fairgrounds. Designs are not required to relate to these topics.
• The design may be drawn, printed or digital. Electronic submissions and vector artwork (.AI, .PDF, or .EPS files) are preferred. Image files must be saved to 300 dpi and be high resolution in .JPG, .PNG or .PSD format. Please convert all text to outline. If your design is selected, you will be required to provide the original design in a high-resolution format that is compatible with Photoshop, Illustrator or other professional design program or agree to have your design recreated in a usable format. If photographing a drawing please be sure to take the photo straight on with good lighting (no shadows over artwork) and no to minimal background.
• Final design dimensions should not exceed 12” x 12”.
• The color of the final shirt will be determined by the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation.

Judging Details

• Designs will be judged on the following:
  • Concept/originality
  • Striking and memorable
  • Visibility – eye-catching and visible from a reasonable distance
  • Complete – must be ready for print
  • Feasibility – must be easy to reproduce on a t-shirt
• Please note that the Foundation reserves the right to adjust the winning design.

Rules

• All entries must be original creations that have never been published and do not contain any profanity, trademarks, logos, restricted or copyrighted works of any other person or business.
  • AI rules: AI may be used to supplement a design, however, designs must be primarily created by humans. No more than approximately 10% of the design may be AI generated. Entrants must disclose the use of AI in their design process, detailing in what capacity and which areas of the design it was used. The judging criteria will consider originality, artistic expression, and adherence to the contest theme. Failure to adhere to this rule may lead to disqualification at the discretion of the judges.
• The winning design will remain the property of the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation and will not be returned to you nor will you receive any compensation for said design other than the aforementioned prize package. The Foundation may use the winning design at any time after the contest. The winning contestant may display their design in a portfolio or personal collection, but may not sell or reproduce the design for any other purpose once submitted to the contest.
• By submitting an entry and including your name, address and contact information, you are acknowledging your acceptance and understanding of the complete contest rules including that the winning design is the property of the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation.
• UPDATED As of March 31, 2026: Up to 3 entries may be submitted by an individual, but they must be submitted as separate entries If more than 3 entries are received from a participant, only the first three submissions will be considered for judging. Entries received before the date of this rule are exempt.
• A panel of judges selected by the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation will choose the top 5 design submissions which will then be put to a public vote.
  • Voting begins on Friday, May 1, 2026 and closes on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Finalists’ designs will be posted on the Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation’s Facebook page for voting. Voting will be via Facebook “like”.
  • The winners will be notified by email at the close of the voting period.
• The Foundation reserves the right to end this contest at any time, effective on the date of the termination notice and is under no obligation to give advance notice of the termination.
• This contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws.
• Current Kansas State Fair or Kansas Fairgrounds Foundation full-time staff, board members or their spouses are not allowed to participate.
• At the sole discretion of the Foundation, disqualification, forfeiture and the selection of an alternate winner may result from any of the following:
  • Winner’s failure to respond to notification within seven (7) business days after its transmission;
  • The return of an email notification as undeliverable after three (3) attempts;
  • Winner’s failure to provide original design files; failure to submit a completely original design; failure to adhere to the full rules; or failure to execute and return a release form.