County Fair 2014 - Part 1

When county fair time rolls around what do you think of?...Animals...ribbons...food...All of these things and more are woven into our family's fair each year. This one was no exception. As 4-Hers Megan and Malissa spend their summer "free" time getting ready for the fair.

There are bucket calves to teach to lead and care for. (The picture of enthusiasm.)

Pictures to take. Art to cut, glue, and paint. And on and on and...

Consultation judging is the first hurdle to overcome and ours started on July 16th - 9 days before the official start to the fair: just 5 days after we came home from our vacation. Megan and Malissa both had photography and visual arts entries. In fact, for Megan these were the only projects she was in - so this is it for her. So with paint tacky and glue just dry enough to stick, the girls sat down to the most painful part of judging. The Critique.

The best part of this process? The judge gives them all sorts of great tips for improving. It takes great perseverance on my part to not say "I told you so." It's just so much better to hear these things from someone other than their mother!

I admit - I learn a lot from these too. I have zero knowledge and ability in art so of course the girls are always in it. They don't receive a lot of help from me. Just a "Good Luck!" Usually I quiz them afterwards trying to find out what tidbits they picked up. ("What do you mean you don't remember...you were taking to the judge for 20 minutes!)

After consultation judging the non-purple art projects come home. But the photography stays for the upcoming fair. I assume its a storage issue. Pictures stack. A lot of art projects just take up too much room.

With my fair baby sitter firmly lined up (Megan may be rethinking this not having regular fair exhibits thing.) Malissa bakes...and bakes...and bakes some more. We all usually put on a pound or 2 while cleaning up all the practice. We all usually put on a pound or 2 while cleaning up all the practice. And occasionally we head outside to wash or walk the bucket calf. By the way - the calf is a heifer named Lollipop.

Finally, the day before the fair, Malissa made a peach pie, peanut butter blossoms, sour cream chocolate cake, yeast bread and banana bread. Phew!

With the morning of July 25th we are loading up the calf alongside cousins that have 4-H dairy heifers. Then we pack up all our food and art, hunt down all the entry cards and head for town. Arriving at the fair building it is bedlam. I am feeling very fortunate right now that Megan stayed home to watch her younger siblings because the last thing anyone needs are my 3 youngest running around underfoot.
Malissa and I check in her and Megan's visual art projects and then I take custody of the food while Malissa heads over to settle in her calf. My job this year at the fair is to help the judges with the food so I head over to help. When Malissa returns she gets in line and waits for the foods judges. Once again consultation judging gives her some great tips for next year. A lot of the things she made this year were new to her like the yeast bread and the pie. The intermediate division has a lot of entries so its really tough!

That afternoon Malissa sits down with a judge for consultation judging with her bucket calf. This is a little different in that there aren't any tips. The job of the judge is to quiz Malissa on her knowledge of her calf, calf care and cattle in general.

And with that Day 1 is done. Part 2 will pick up the next day. More fun awaits!