Where are you located? Do you have a large quilting/sewing community? I really like to look at the antique quilts and not so much into the competition. And I find it fun to have a hand quilting display with people quilting at the fair. But it is nice to see what other people are making now and how they are doing it. Have you talked with the local guilds to find out why they are not participating with the fair? It seems it doesn't take much to injure the feelings of people and so they refuse to contribute and try to persuade others not to contribute either. You need to find out when it was good and what made it change so dramatically.