Fun for all at this week’s Washtenaw County 4-H Youth Show
Manchester 4-H’ers Dillon Neigebauer (left), Jacy Wacker, and Caleb Benedict invite you to attend the 4-H Fair this week at the Farm Council Grounds.
The Washtenaw County 4-H Youth Show begins tomorrow at the Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Road, and runs through Friday, July 27.
It’s a fun and action-packed week for those involved, like 20-year-old Jacy Wacker, who is in her final year exhibiting after many years of participation.
“I started when I was 11, I think,” she says. “It kind of seems like I’ve always done it–so it’s hard to remember exactly when I started. I’ve always shown livestock: mostly cattle and sheep.”
As she has advanced through 4-H, Jacy is now on the Junior Livestock Committee, the youth leadership which oversees a good part of the fair, including helping with showing and judging. The Junior Livestock Committee members serve as mentors to the younger members and help guide them with their livestock projects. They also coordinate the Ag Olympics and the Animal Decorator contests held during fair week.
Jacy says she will miss 4-H once she is no longer eligible. “I might decide to become a sheep superintendent next year,” she said. This would allow her to be involved on a different level, as the go-to person for all 4-H members who decide to show sheep, and serve as a liaison to the wider 4-H organization.
She says that while showing animals is fun and rewarding, “it’s the friendships you make during your years in 4-H that is one of the huge benefits, and that’s something that lasts a lifetime.”
Caleb Benedict, 7-1/2, knows exactly when he started in 4-H. This is his third and last year as a “Cloverbud,” which is designed for kids ages 5-8.
“My first year I showed sheep,” he said. “My second year I did a feeder calf; this year I am showing a steer and some pigs.” He is also participating in craft exhibits–a marble maze and a yarn ball that he made at Cloverbud Camp, as well as painting and bubble coloring
Caleb says he likes showing pigs better than sheep.
Seven-year-old Dillon Neigebauer is also a Cloverbud. He’s in his second year in 4-H and really enjoys doing crafts. This year he’s exhibiting woodworking, a spider hat he created from materials gathered at a scavenger hunt during Cloverbud Camp, as well as a feeder calf. He also has moved on from showing sheep in his first year as a 4-H’er.
Both Dillon and his mom, Stacey, as well as Caleb and his mom Cindy, had high praise for the Cloverbud experience, as well as 4-H in general.
“They are learning about responsibility,” says Stacey Neigebauer. “It’s an opportunity for them to try out a lot of different things and determine what they like to do and what they don’t like.”
Cindy Benedict agrees. “There are so many different things to do; so many projects they can participate in. It’s hard for them to get bored doing this!”
Tuesday morning will kick off the public fair bright and early with the Farm Council Junior Livestock breakfast, although varying activities have already been ongoing since Friday, July 20. The show will conclude late Friday night, following the Sweepstakes Showmanship, Senior Awards, and Scholarships presentations.
The 4-H Youth Show has six specific objectives, as follows: To provide stimulating educational experiences different from those usually provided in local club programs; To provide a dynamic and comprehensive public view of youth programs in action; To provide recognition, inspiration, and fellowship and to encourage greater future achievement and leadership; To provide exposure to and exploration of new ideas for future efforts; To help individuals broaden their relationships with others; and To inspire and serve as a laboratory for leadership development for youth and adults.
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