NORMAN — Cleveland County 4-H’ers are nearing the time of year when they are able to showcase their hard work as they prepare for the Cleveland County fair, as well as the 2010 Oklahoma State Fair and the Tulsa State Fair.
Club members have been showcasing project work for the Oklahoma State Fair for more than a century now in Oklahoma.
“As we continue to celebrate over 100 years of 4-H in Oklahoma, club members and alumni from around the state have an opportunity to look back in celebrating 100 years of project work at the fair,” said Justin McConaghy, Cleveland County 4-H youth development educator.
The selection of 4-H Centennial classes will continue at the 2010 fairs. Alumni classes are an effort to promote even greater participation as former club members also can get in on the fun.
There are classes for 4-H alumni to exhibit past project work, memorabilia, photographs and even their 4-H record book.
“For a century, fair exhibits have been an important part of the 4-H Youth Development Educational Program by allowing young people the incentive to apply skills and then to exhibit the results of what they’ve learned and accomplished,” he said.
This year’s Cleveland County Fair will be Sept. 9-11. Still exhibits must be entered on 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 8 and livestock will be entered 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 9. The Oklahoma State Fair will be Sept. 16-26. Judging day will occur Sept 16. The Tulsa State Fair will run Sept. 30 – Oct. 10.
The excitement and interest the new Centennial classes added in 2008 and 2009 was so great a decision was made to extend the classes to the 2010 fairs.
“It also identified the need to provide new educational materials on preserving, documenting, and displaying collections and collectibles” McConaghy said. “After 2010, we anticipate new classes or even a new 4-H project area centered around collectibles to be added to carry on the objective of the centennial exhibits, which is to learn about and document our 4-H heritage through the process of identification and preservation.”
Each item in the classes will require research, documentation and reporting to authenticate the item being exhibited.
All 4-H Centennial exhibits entered at the state level at both of the fairs will receive a commemorative 4-H Centennial ribbon. An overall “Best of Show” will be selected for each of the six categories, which includes 4-H collections, photography, family living, mechanical sciences and plant science.
“All 4-H’ers who participate in the 4-H Companion Animals project have the opportunity to showcase their experiences through new fair exhibits added for the 2010 fairs,” he said.
Visitors to the Oklahoma State Fair can see all of the 4-H exhibits in the Hobby, Arts and Crafts Building. Individuals who are making plans to visit the Tulsa State Fair should plan to stop by the Ford Truck Arena and see the 4-H exhibits in the Exhibit room of the arena.
