The countdown to Lawrence County Fair is on, meaning there is lots going on in the next few weeks that require additional updates!

• Reminder, Food & Clothing Judging is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 25th at Mamre Church on Kitts Hill. Please be sure to contact our office if you haven’t scheduled your interview yet.
  • Participants will have the opportunity to take Skillathon during their project judging. Clothing Skillathon exhibitors should be able to identify sewing supplies, parts of a sewing machine, hand stitches, and parts of a pattern. Food Skillathon should be able to identify best practices for food shopping using ads, as well as answer questions around food safety, myplaye, and food prep.
• We recognize Saturday of the fair can be very busy & some of you are interested in getting livestock skillathon done early! We have decided to host two pre-fair skillathon opportunities:
  • June 27th – 8:30 – 4:00pm, Extension Office
  • July 2nd – 3:00 – 6:00pm, Symmes Valley High School Lecture Hall

For Skillathon, participants will want to look over the study guide and bring their completed project book! Youth will also take part in a short interview about their project.

• Specialty Goat Exhibition Update: In 2023 the Specialty Goat Show was cancelled due to low exhibition which resulted in it not being on the schedule for 2024 until registration numbers came in to see if it was possible for this year. Unfortunately, the deadline for entry has passed and we have too few exhibitors to offer for 2024. We hope this project grows and makes a return in the future!
• Horse Show Registration is open! Registration to participate in classes during the horse show will be open until 1hr prior to the start of the show. Please register at this link: 2024 Horse Show Class Registration  Patterns will be posted one hour prior to start of the show!
•  Morgan Klaiber & Meredith Humphreys have news to share about a Master Exhibitor Opportunity:
  “This year we have a new opportunity for livestock exhibitors, with the help of our generous sponsors, we are offering a Livestock Sweepstakes. In years past, we have had beef breeding & market swine sweepstakes. Morgan and I were both fortunate to have received awards during our time as 4-H members. We wanted to offer this to all 4-H & FFA market exhibitors, to allow them to have a small incentive for all their hard work.
  Throughout the fair week, market exhibitors will receive points based on their placings in skillathon, quality market show, and showmanship. We have attached the point system below and potential ties will be broken according to skillathon scores and/or asking exhibitors general questions about the species that they are showing.
  Prizes will be awarded to the top three exhibitors for each species and are as follows:
  •1st Place- $100 and Livestock Sweepstakes champion banner
  •2nd Place- $75
  •3rd Place- $50
  Exhibitors will be awarded on Friday July 12th @5pm at the 4-H Showcase.”
• Yesterday evening, countless volunteers from senior fairboard, 4-H & Livestock Committee, Junior Fairboard and amazing 4-H families came out to set up pens in the barns! Trust me, it takes an army and some patience, and I am always grateful for the amount of people who are willing to jump in and help. So, thank you! We plan to have stall cards up on July 3rd so you can begin setting up your pen!
• Club Volunteers Pre-Fair Check In: Don’t forget pass pick up and club packets will be available for pick up on July 27th and receive the latest fair information and news to share with your members!
  • A couple things to note in preparation for the fair:
    • The posted fair schedule has a club booth set up time listed for 9 – 12:00pm and 2:00 – 8:00pm! Please use the 2:00 – 8:00pm; as the Expo will be closed from 9:00 – 12:00pm for Queens Contest Interviews!
    • All events listed in the 4-H Breezeway are going to be held in the old food booth/restaurant building between the grandstand and rabbit/chicken barn.
    • Barn Meeting expectation is all livestock exhibitors will attend a 10:30am or at 6:00pm on Saturday, July 6th. One tip we would like everyone to go ahead and start thinking about is animal care during the fair. Pens should be cleaned out regularly, animals should be fed and watered twice a day; with water made available regularly. If you are not planning to be at the fairgrounds for the duration of the fair, be working with your friends and family to set up a shared schedule to make sure animals are continually cared for at all times throughout the week. Barn committee will be doing checks between 7-8 am and 4-6pm each day!
      • Rabbit and Chicken exhibitors this includes that at the conclusion of the fair, your pen should be cleaned out prior to you going to the sale ring so that once you return with your animal, your duties are complete!

Hello!

We apologize for the delay in this newsletter, Rachael was away at 4-H Camp with our Lawrence County campers last week. But, we definitely have lots of information to share with you as the Lawrence County Junior Fair is only a little over 3 weeks from now!

• Lawrence County Fair Royalty Contest application deadline is June 14th. Applications can be turned in at our office for your convenience. You can find applications at Lawrence County Fair | Lawrence (osu.edu)
• Market Rabbit Tattooing is scheduled for June 15th from 8:00 – 10:00am. All rabbit exhibitors must bring your rabbits to tattooing on Saturday to the Lawrence County Fairgrounds for official ID.
• Breeding Forms due June 15th. All members planning to exhibit a breeding animal, breeding forms must be submitted by June 15th. To find your form, visit: Lawrence County Fair | Lawrence (osu.edu)
  • Fancy Poultry exhibitors: We would like to provide some clarification – A male/female pair will count as 1 entry. However, a pair is not required to participate.
• Fancy Poultry Pollorum Testing available Friday, June 21st from 9:30 – 10:30am at Randolph Stables, 764 County Road 31, Chesapeake. Cost is $10 per bird.
• Project Judging Requirements – can be found in the Lawrence County 4-H Guidebook by visiting here: Lawrence County 4-H Guidebook
• Food & Clothing Pre-Fair Judging is scheduled for June 25th at Mamre Church in Kitts Hill. There will be no make-up judging date this year. To reserve your interview slot, please register by June 15 by visiting: go.osu.edu/lawcoprefairjudging
• 4-H Project Judging (Wednesday/Thursday of Fair interview sign ups are now available!
  • Wednesday, July 10th: STEM, Animal Sciences, and Natural Resources – go.osu.edu/lawcowednesdayprojectjudging
  • Thursday, July 11th: Creative Arts, Communication, Career Exploration, Workforce Development, Healthy and Home Living, Leadership & Citizenship, Money Management, and Self Determined – go.osu.edu/lawcothursdayjudging
• Ohio State Fair Livestock Entries due June 21: Livestock Competitions (ohiostatefair.com)
• Club Advisor Fair Check-In will be Thursday, June 27th, our office will be open 8:00 – 4:30pm for pass pick up. During this time, club advisors will need to bring their club roster with verification of club meeting attendance and project book completion. As a reminder, all members must attend 5 meetings to receive their fair pass and be permitted to exhibit at the county & state fair by July 1.
• Lawrence County Fair 4-H & FFA Information such as the schedule, rules, skillathon study guide, etc can be found at Lawrence County Fair | Lawrence (osu.edu)
  • Additional new information release & important reminders includes:
    • The Finley Family will be sponsoring a pizza party for all 4-H & FFA youth on Thursday during the Fair from 11-2pm. During this time, the Lawrence County Senior Fairboard is providing a free ride time for the 4-H and FFA youth from 11:30 – 1:30pm. Volunteers will receive meal and ride tickets at the pass pick up day to distribute to members.
    • Livestock Skillathon is required again this year, members will participate during their scheduled club time on Saturday of the Fair. Schedule will be released by June 27th.
      • Just Added: Pop-Up Skillathon at the Extension Office, 8:30 – 4:00pm, June 27th for those that would like to get it done before the Fair.
      • Reminder, your project book will be checked for points & you will participate in an interview as part of skillathon.
    • The Barn Meeting is back and scheduled for 10am at the 4-H Shelter and 6:00pm at the Large Animal Barn on Saturday, July 6th. During the 6pm meeting there will be an exhibitor dinner for all 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors. All exhibitors are expected to attend a barn meeting. A few things to note as you start preparing your fair supplies, animal pens must be clean and presentable at all times, barn inspections will happen twice a day. If you are not staying on the grounds, please develop a schedule ahead of time to work with your fellow club members.
    • Chicken exhibitors – it has been recommended you find cardboard or old yard signs to place into the bottom of your pen, then place bedding on top of it, to keep your chickens from cutting their legs. Please note, these will also need to be cleaned and replaced as needed.
  • Club Beautification and Contest Participation registration can be found at: https://go.osu.edu/lawcofairclubparticipation
    • Club Beautification spot selection will be available on a first come, first serve basis during 4-H Club Fair Check In on June 27. After that, clubs will check in upon arrival at the fair on Saturday to select their spot.
    • For more information on the specifications of these projects, please check out the guidebook: Lawrence County 4-H Guidebook
  • Cloverbud Interview and Parade: Tuesday, July 9th starting at 1:00pm at the Large Animal Barn. This year we encourage Cloverbuds to come dressed as their favorite animal. For the interview bring any project they’ve worked on throughout the year or anything to do with their favorite animals!