Opening Day = 4-H Birthday Bash

It is our favorite season. Not Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter but Fair. That's right Thursday is the opening day for the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. This year is was doubly as spectacular as the fair helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of North Carolina 4-H. On hand for the official opening ceremony were a list of dignitaries (as well as the fair mascot, Fair Weather) with wonderful messages. North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler spoke about all the work it takes to get a fair together and kick it off and what a wonderful fair we have. Cherie Berry, our state Labor Commissioner, spoke about the tough standards we have for rides and other fair events and our organizations work together to have the safest fair possible for everyone. Representative Garland Pearce, County Commissioner Noah Woods, Sheriff Kenny Sealey and Mayor Pro-Temp Eric Hackney also spoke and brought greetings to all.

Of course for 4-H the special guest was Dr. Thearon McKinney. He spoke about our 4-H Centennial and how important 4-H can be in the lives of our youth. He also talked about our county 4-H program and said that it was not your average program, which we are happy to attest to with all the 4-H participation at the fair this year. It was such a treat for us to have him as part of the opening ceremony.

After all of the speeches Dr. McKinney and others made their way off the stage to cut the ribbon for the 63rd annual Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair. After that we broke out into Happy Birthday 4-H and our youth released 100 balloons into the air to help celebrate our Centennial. As we made our way in for food, Commissioner Troxler, Commissioner Berry and Dr. McKinney cut our official 4-H Birthday Cake for fair goers to enjoy.
As the fair progresses we will have lots of photos each day and will keep you up to date on all our fair activities. You can also check out the fair's webpage at www.robesoncountyfair.com and don't forget to check out the Robesonian which has a great article today about our fair. We will let you know about updates on Twitter (so if you would like a tweet you can click here to sign up). Stay tuned for some more great 4-H happenings!