Thanks for Making the Burt County Fair Such a Great Event!

By Mary Loftis, Extension Assistant

Our thanks go to ALL our 4-H faithful and volunteers of all sorts for making the Burt County Fair such a great success. We hope you felt it was a successful fair for you too!

At the top of my county fair excitement list were the 61 individuals crossing the stage as they modeled their outfits during the 4-H Fashion Show Friday night. There were a few who were not able to attend, but that is a record number of models for many, many years!

Among those modeling were 14 Clover Kids (ages 5-7). Another important change-maker was the addition of the $15.00 Challenge category. 4-H members were challenged to purchase a complete outfit for $15 or less (not counting shoes or underwear.) This challenge got the 4-H members out of the name brand stores and into the thrift stores, Goodwill and even using coupons. One member found a skirt on sale at a retail store for $10 and then produced a $10 off coupon! That’s how I’d like to shop! There were 14 models in that category also.

Hopefully you had a chance to take in some of the great entertainment at the fair. The free shows under the Fair Foundation Pavilion were excellent as were the big name shows and bull riding in front of the grandstand. The value of this entertainment goes directly to the Entertainment Committee of the Burt County Fair Foundation and Ag Society. Many thousands of dollars were spent to make these shows available, so make sure you thank the Burt County Ag Society and the Fair Foundation for the Entertainment Committee’s efforts.

On the subject of “thanks” don’t forget to write those all-important thank you notes to award donors and auction buyers! We have some wonderfully generous supporters and if they don’t feel their efforts were appreciated they may not donate, buy or support 4-H in any way next year! Yes, it’s that important, so make it your goal before school starts to get those thank you notes mailed.

Good Luck to all our State Fair Exhibitors!

The 2015 Nebraska State Fair is August 28- September 7 in Grand Island, and many of our Burt County 4-H members will be showing animals, taking part in presentations, modeling, and public speaking contests. Many more 4-H members will also have their static exhibits judged. Jot down this webpage to help you plan your trip to the State Fair, sign up to volunteer at the fair or check fair results by going to the following webpage: 4h.unl.edu/nebraska-state-fair

State Fair Exhibits Due in Extension Office

Since the State Fair is in Grand Island, we need to get all the static exhibits packed and loaded early and efficiently and we need your help to get them in on time!

All non-perishable Static Exhibits are due in the Burt County Extension Office by  Friday, August 21.

Perishable Exhibits including foods & gardening need to come in by Wednesday morning, August 26 before 8:30 a.m.!  NO LATER!

We will open the Extension Office at 7:30 a.m. to help you get where you need to go that morning on time. If you have any challenges getting them here in the morning they can come in the day before so please plan ahead so your items make it to the state fair!

In order to make check in at the state fair as easy as possible, 4-H members taking any horticulture or flowers need to call the Burt County Extension Office by Monday, August 24 at 4:30 p.m. with the exhibit cultivars or varieties so these items can be pre-entered and have entry tags waiting for us in Grand Island. Standing in line for an hour and a half waiting for them last year was NO FUN!

Remember, your 4-H exhibits may be picked up again September 8-11.

Too cute not to share:

Sometimes the value of a good 4-H project isn’t as easy to appreciate as at other times:

I was told about a little girl who met a friend at the Burt County Fair this year. The friend said to the girl: “Let’s go see the cows! Let’s go see the cows!” So the girl and her mother went up the hill to the beef barn. As they were walking down the beef aisle the little girl turned to her mom and asked “Why are we looking at cow butts?”

Some of the simplest questions are the hardest to answer!