Years ago, when my children developed an interest in showing livestock at the local fair, I felt feelings of encouragment blossom within me. I always wanted to show animals at fair, but as a kid dwelling in the Alaskan wilderness, it was a little bit too much of a commute to the state fair as it was thousands of miles away. Not to mention the logistical nightmare of keeping livestock in glacier land.
Anyway, my children have been showing swine and beef at our State fair for four years now. They are dedicated to their projects and put the work in, and let me tell you, for each hour of work they put in, you as a parent will put in a few more.
Gone are the days of just signing up or showing up for fair. Kids who show animals have to take Quality Assurance training, due to some super special people drugging up their market animals with substances that you just don't give livestock for reasons age old, to try to bend the rules and beat the system.
Then you have to sign up for Trailer Village. Trailer Village is a privilege that 4H'ers who show livestock at the fair get. You pay for the right to park your trailer or tent on the fairgrounds and camp all week. There are no services, so it is a dry camping extravaganza. Apparently the fees were supposed to pay for water and electricity. As anyone who works with animals knows, they release no small amount of excrement, so the no water bit is sorta exciting. There's water in the barn and three showers in the pig building. That totally works for a few hundred people for a week.
Lest you think I am whining, think again, I am truly thankful for Trailer Village. What I am more mystified about is that they have been taking fees for at least thirty years under the guise of installing services for the campers. Hmmm....
After you get your Trailer Village paper work done, you also have to get any extra tickets and parking passes your family might need. Livestock exhibitors and leaders get fair badges for the week, but you have to purchase them for any other family members. The fair is cool and offers them at a discounted rate.
Then comes the actual fair entry part. It used to be done with paper and pretty last minute. Now, the entire process is done online and in an organized and expedient manner. This is the easiest part of the fair process and I am super thankful for it. Especially since my daughter alone has 6 classes of entries. Overachiever child!!!
However, our county doesn't take payment for the fair entries over the Web, so that means that you have to mail payment to or pay in person at the County Extension Office. As my friends and I each have kids with steers, another factor came into play for fair, steer hoof trimming. Our 4H office offered a steer hoof trimming date this year, so for $25 our steers can get a pedicure by a professional. We all decided to meet up at the extension office and pay our kids fair entry fees and schedule/pay for the hoof trimmings all in a row so that we can moo pool together.
Of course, in true 4H fashion, no one at the office knew about the steer hoof trimming or where the sign up sheet for it was when we arrived. Even though the event has been posted on 4Honline for two months. My friend and I didn't sweat it, and went down the street to eat an impressive amount of Italian food while we waited for the director of the office to come in at noon.
After ingesting no small amount of garlic, olive oil, and butter soaked bread, creamy basil and tomato soup, and smoked chicken manicotti, I was so content that I would have smiled in any situation. I've been so busy lately that I don't think I have had even a triangle meal for days.
We returned after our feastival and met with the head 4H cheese. She got us squared away faster than a toddler with a Paw Patrol floor puzzle. After we had signed up and paid for everything, I walked with my friends out the Extension's doors. It was as I was egressing that it hit me. I was completely ready for fair paperwork-wise. Could it really be true? It's two months before fair, did this mean that I am not going to be going mad in August trying to keep up with a not well administrated organizational paradigm? Yes, yes it does! Today is a very good day indeed!!!
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's still in 4H and Fair Time completedness shock and awe iPhone.
