Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Attracts Thousands

By Nicole Wiseman, NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- If you weren't hungry when you arrived to the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show, you were when you left. Hundreds of mouthwatering and creative cakes were on display over the weekend during the event held at the Tulsa State Fair.

The Grand National Wedding Cake Competition was held as well. The 2009 theme was Of Sea and Shore.

The event is presented by Oklahoma Sugar Artists and attracted cake artists from around the world who specialize in cake decoration. Several stars from The Food Network were there too, not to mention thousands of people with a sweet tooth who couldn't resist seeing the art on display.

"It's been an exciting weekend," said Kerry Vincent, Sugar Art Show Director. "There's been so many people who came from all over the world. We've had them from Hong Kong, from Nigeria, from the West Indies, from Bermuda."

The event started in 1993 and has grown into the largest money purse in the world in the sugar arts arena, with $96,000 awarded in cash and prizes. There are cake categories for professionals and amateurs and for an artist to walk away a winner, Vincent said it takes years of practice.

"You can't just leap and be great if you don't know what you're doing and in order to know what you're doing, you have to get through all the stages, which makes it a little more interesting to watch the progress from year to year," said Vincent.

The Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show is also the second-largest event in the world. The largest is in England, but Vincent hopes to change that. In fact, more space has been allocated for next year's show.

"More Cakes, more people, more everything. It's going to be really fun," Vincent said.

Take a look through the slideshow to see some of the cakes that were on display.