Hope the fair goes well Neil
Please do try it, I would be interested in your results, good or bad.
I've not tried the pre drilling scenario for pen blanks, but shall do so. The blanks do move quite a lot, but no more than I would expect through conventional drying
If I get chance, I will post some start to finish experiments.
I can only comment on the bowl blanks, by my own experience.
The biggest thing I have done is 8"x 3" Oak, green to finished in 4 months, with no more movement than I would normally expect from a "Dry blank" in the workshop, being brought into a summer lit conservatory.