Probably every county has some type of agricultural equivalent of the county fair and a lot of those are affiliated with the 4 H clubs.
A little blurb off of the 4H website.
Through America’s 109 land-grant universities and its Cooperative Extension System, 4-H reaches every corner of our nation—from urban neighborhoods to suburban schoolyards to rural farming communities. With a network of more than 6 million youth, 540,000 volunteers, 3,500 professionals, and more than 60 million alumni, 4-H helps shape youth to move our country and the world forward in ways that no other youth organization can.While I didn't live on a farm, I did participate in 4H. I don't remember every project I ever did, but I do remember constructing the world's ugliest skirt at one point. Needless, to say, it did not win the blue ribbon.
My husband and his brothers were avid 4Hers and raised animals to show every year at the Illinois fairs. They traveled all summer from one fair to the next with their assorted animals.
So what does any of that have to do with today's post?
People are quick to point out how many kids are not responsible, or are rude or lazy or any number of negatives but....there are 6 million kids out there in America that work all year to bring their projects to be judged at the local county fairs. We need to support their effort. We need to walk through the show barns, and the exhibition halls, and buy tickets to the programs that support the kids.
So this year we drove from Kansas City to Iroquois County Fair
Here are just a few of the things that we did at the fair.
The Big Cat Show
One of the first shows we went to was the Big Cat Show. Clayton Rosaire is a ninth generation animal trainer that has a wild life habitat in Sarasota, Florida. He has been bringing his cats to the fair for the last few years. Besides being a really nice guy, his cats are amazing. You can read about the show and the habitat by clicking here.
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| Clayton standing with his lion, Handsome Handsome is quite handsome, don't you think? |
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| Clayton with Mia. Mia is a liger. She is a really rare breed. |
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| grandson #2 is way more interested in his stroller than the lions and tigers He is just over the chickenpox so he gets to chillax a bit. |
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| Handsome is discussing world affairs with us. |
Demolition Derby
I thought maybe the grandsons would find this too noisy but they seemed to find it pretty entertaining.
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| Demolition Derby judges |
Visit with assorted animals
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| Draft Horses |
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| Eyeing the chicks (from a 3 yr old's perspective) |
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| Chickenpox survivor still just chillaxin in his stroller with his binky |
As far as Grandson #1 was concerned the best part of the fair was the rides. He particularly liked the slides.
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| Had to sit on daddy's lap as G-boy didn't meet the height requirement |
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| A smaller slide that a 3 year old can maneuver |
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| Slides are fun |
We all like the "tasty but not so good for you" fair food.
The Good for the Day....a lot of fun seeing all the animals and the exhibits
The Bad for the Day....Really, really HOT
The Weird for the Day...Handsome is thinking how tasty we would be with a little BBQ sauce.
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