Today’s Front Burner column is about Buddy Valastro, star of the TLC reality shows “Cake Boss” and “The Next Great Baker.” On Dec. 9, Valastro is coming to the Salem Civic Center to share stories and cake decorating tips with the audience. A few lucky audience members will go home with a Cake Boss cake.

Tickets are $35.75, $45.75 and $85, but you could win a pair of tickets by entering our fall cupcake contest! Decorate a cupcake with an autumn theme, then send us a picture. We’ll show the images to Valastro, who will pick the final winner. I know some very talented bakers read the Fridge Magnet blog and I hope you will enter to win. If nothing else, this could be a fun weekend activity for you and your children or grandchildren.

To enter to win, you must:

>> Bake and decorate the cupcake yourself or with friends and family members.

>> Take a photo of the cupcake that shows all the elements of your design.

>> Write a brief description about how you decorated your cupcake, including any special or unusual steps you took.

>> Email the picture and description, along with your name, hometown and daytime telephone number (for verification purposes), to lindsey.nair@roanoke.com or mail the materials to The Roanoke Times, c/o Lindsey Nair, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA, 24010.

To keep reading rules and tips, click “Read more.”

>> The deadline to enter is 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12. The winner will be notified by the week of Nov. 26. Even if your cupcake does not win, we may publish your picture in The Roanoke Times.

Cupcake contest tips

When we say “autumn,” we are not just talking leaves and pumpkins (although there’s nothing wrong with that). The theme is open to interpretation, so your cupcake might be a tribute to football season, Halloween, Thanksgiving or any other distinctly autumnal scene.

“You want it to be colorful, you want it to look appealing,” Buddy Valastro advised. “You could have the most delicious cupcake in the world, but people eat with their eyes first. Use different colors so that it pops.”

Otherwise, his advice is to “try the best you can to be creative with it and don’t be afraid to do it over. If you are not happy with it, just do it again.”