Monday is baked foods entry day at the Ventura County Fair. Given my blue-ribbon track record in recent years (uh, that would be zero), I think that I'll skip getting up at 3:30 that morning to whip up a loaf of bread to drop off at the Home Arts building on the way to work.

But now, at least, I have a little better understanding of what it is to be a food contest judge instead of a contestant. Neither job is easy; both are liable to leave you with sticky fingers.

Last weekend, at the invitation of Santa Paula City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, I was one of six judges for the first round of food competitions at the 41st annual Santa Paula Citrus Festival. In their fourth year, each of the contest categories drew at least five entries, with nods going to first, second and third places. The action was fast and furious: No sooner had I taken a bite of a particularly fragile lemon bar than Bobkiewicz was asking for my first impressions — which I gave at the risk of spraying spectators with a mouthful of powdered sugar.

The actual judging was pretty quick, too. After tasting each of the entries in a category, my fellow judges and I stepped away from the makeshift stage to discuss our top picks — no secret ballots here — while huddling in a circle just a few yards away from the contestants. In the end, we awarded first prizes, and $100 checks, in the categories of best guacamole (Juan Viramontes, for his chunky-spicy dip), most creative avocado dish (Renee Pokorny, for Avocado-Orange Frozen Yogurt) and best lemon dessert (Rose Zellmer, for Lemon Cream Puffs).

The next day, another group of judges awarded prizes in the second round of categories. Zellmer was back to claim first prize for best orange dessert with her Orange Mango Ginger Sorbet. But despite all the talk about people reviving the art of making preserves, each of the three winners for best orange or lemon marmalade was store-bought. And biggest avocado? That prize went to Rodrigo Loera, who hauled in a green-skinned giant that Bobkiewicz described as so big, it proved too much for the seized, drug dealer-property scale borrowed from the police department.

Oh, and by the way: If you plan to enter baked items at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, you have from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to do so.

For rules and information, go to http://www.venturacountyfair.org.

HOT, HOT, HOT: Another festival, another contest. The 15th annual Oxnard Salsa Festival this weekend will include not just salsa dancing but salsa recipe contests. (Sorry, the registration deadlines have come and gone.)

Salsas made by area restaurants, Mexican markets and "gourmet salsa vendors" will be served Saturday and Sunday in the official salsa-tasting tent, where the $5 entry fee includes 15 tasting tickets and a bag of tortilla chips. Judging in the amateur division of the Great Oxnard Salsa Challenge starts at 11 a.m. Sunday in the on-site Salsa Cantina. There, prizes will be awarded for best red, green, fruit, hot, medium and mild salsas, with $150 in cash going to the cook whose salsa is named Judge's Favorite.

The festival itself will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days in Plaza Park at Fifth and B streets in downtown Oxnard. Admission and parking are free. Call 247-0197 or click on http://www.oxnardsalsafestival.com.

While you're in the neighborhood, check out Plaza Park-adjacent Tino's Pizza, which just added beer to its menu of sandwiches, hamburgers and hand-tossed pizzas (509 South C St., 483-5000). New in town is Antojitos Café, which, despite its name, serves not tapas and appetizers (the literal translation of antojitos) but smoothies, boba teas and scoops of McConnell's Ice Cream. To "welcome the Dallas Cowboys into town" during the team's training camp at nearby River Ridge Fields, the cafe is offering a $1 discount on "the purchase of your favorite frozen dessert" to anyone wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey, shirt or hat (Fremont Square Shopping Center, 802 N. Ventura Road, 981-4800).

Meanwhile, about four miles from downtown, Old Dublin Bar & Grill has opened in the Channel Islands Shopping Center space once occupied by Champs Sports Bar & Grill (1900 Victoria Ave., 985-6750).

NEW IN OLD TOWN: Described as a "European-style cafe," Panini Place has opened at 2145 Ventura Blvd. in Camarillo (484-6529). Owned by the husband-and-wife team of Jose Miguel and Luz Undurraga, who live in town but originally are from Chile and Colombia, respectively, the soup, salad and panini sandwich place also has an extensive coffee menu overseen by barista Rene Urrecheaga. For now, the hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, and 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays and Mondays. The owners hope to stay open a bit later after adding wine to the mix, perhaps by next week.

Scheduled to open next door in September is the tasting room for Bella Victorian Vineyard. But first, the Camarillo-based winery plans to participate in A Taste of Camarillo, to take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Adolfo Camarillo Ranch House, 201 Camarillo Ranch Road. Proceeds from tickets, $65 ($100 if you also attend the live auction from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday), will benefit Ventura County area charities. Call 278-6272 or visit http://www.meadowlarkserviceleague.com.

Elsewhere in Camarillo, the Curry Leaf is slated to move into the Mission Oaks Plaza space vacated by Azucar Latin Cafe.

COSTNER'S COMING: Greg Kurtz, executive chef at Watermark in Ventura, isn't the only one sweating the Saturday deadline set by the big Kevin Costner soiree and the restaurant's subsequent open house. On Friday, he turned on the burners of the Wolf range in his new kitchen for the first time. A block away, Kevin and Sarah Williams were painting the walls at Charline's Urban Tapas and Wine Bar in hopes of opening in time to greet crowds attracted by Costner's free evening concert. Will they make it? Drop by 546 E. Main St. to find out.

IN REVIEW: For Rita Moran's thoughts on breakfast at Tomas Cafe in Oxnard, see Time Out in Thursday's Star.

— E-mail Lisa McKinnon at lmckinnon@VenturaCountyStar.com.