Last night myself and another mom from the girls' 4-H club took the trek to the fairgrounds with all of the club's entries (30+ different projects) to set them up in the hall and turn in the kids' entry form paperwork (the judging takes place today, it's always the day before the fair officially opens).
As is the case every year, there were plenty of parent volunteers from various clubs setting up their respective club member's entries. It's a friendly group and we usually chat while doing our set-up and several people commented on what a difference a year can make. Not in the kids' projects but in relation to the weather.
Last year setting up the 4-H exhibit hall at Ossipee was a test of stamina in the sweltering heat and humidity (I'm sure you're disappointed I don't have any pictures of hot sweaty mamas from last year to post here). This year most of us were wearing fleeces underneath raincoats and lamenting the prep work required to get some of the projects wrapped to transport to the fairgrounds in the rain (i.e., all the posters and artwork that could NOT get wet - we all managed the feat without incident thank goodness).
But as in past years, we made quick work of getting the 4-H exhibit hall set up with all the displays (which requires hammers, nails, tacks and some creative decorating skills by the more experienced volunteers) in only a few hours.
My crew will be at the fairgrounds on Friday (and Sunday and probably Saturday because we never seem to stick to my more minimalist plans) and it looks like maybe the weather might actually cooperate with a break in the clouds!
But I'll still put in my plea to the sun powers to please cut G. and her friends a break and actually provide that sunshine because handling livestock in the rain and mud really is not much fun for anyone.
This shot was taken with my cell phone so it's not so great. But the exhibits this year by all the various 4-H clubs are both interesting and clever and worth a stop to the exhibit hall if you're headed to the Ossipee fairgrounds this weekend. And in case you didn't know, anyone can enter exhibits in nearly any county fair in Maine. The general exhibit hall (which is different from the 4-H designated halls) is open to any Maine resident of just about any age (I think the minimum might be 3 years old at most fairs). Entries usually require some minimal paperwork (name, address, category/class of your entry) but it's a whole lot of fun for the kids to see something they've made at their local fair. My kids have entered projects as general Maine residents (not 4-H) in the Topsham Fair and had a lot of fun getting ready for that fair with their friends. They dressed up their dolls for judging, entered a painting they did with finger paint, decorated cupcakes, framed photos they've taken, made a variety of crafts, etc. It was lots of fun and no 4-H connection was required.
If you've never done this before and are wondering how to enter your kids' projects in a fair, post a comment below with the fair you'd like to enter and I'll post a link (or phone number) with that fair's exhibit hall information (each fair is different so you've got to find the specific fair's exhibit guidelines).
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