Rain Can't Dampen our Spirit!

A little rain (okay about six inches) may have muddied up the fair grounds but it did not dampen the 4-H spirit at the fair. 11 4-H clubs from Bladen and Robeson Counties set up booths representing the theme of "4-H Is...". This year two new clubs set up first time booths, United We Stand 4-H club set up a booth about living healthy and the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports club set up a booth talking about gun safety and responsibility. Then long time fair booth participants such as Young Leaders 4-H Club, Voices in Praise 4-H Club, Horsin' Around 4-H Club, and the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club set up booths expressing their thoughts of what 4-H is to their club members. For the second year in a row the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club and Inspirational Youth Leaders set up wonderful booths representing the activities that their club members participate in. Two booths from Bladen County were also set up as part of the competition. The "Roots and Shoots" 4-H club set up a booth about food preservation while the overall Bladen County 4-H program set up a booth with photos of tons of 4-H activities that their youth participate in. Although this is great marketing and a lot of fun for our youth to show off their creative sides it is also a competition amongst the clubs. This year the Bladen County 4-H booth took second place, the Dirty Rascal Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club took first place and the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club took Best Overall Booth. Congratulations to these and all of our fair booth participants. They will all receive a check, from the fair, to support their club efforts.

This competition was just one of many that took place. Judges from around the state swarmed the fairgrounds as we worked hard to make sure everything got judged, and had a ribbon, before the fair opened at 4 p.m. It was hard work but before we sat down to lunch everything had been judged and it was up to the fair volunteers to make sure everything was recorded.

By the time four rolled around the fair gates opened but the weather dampened being able to open the rides and forced the fair board to cancel the official ribbon cutting. The displays, food vendors, and games were open and we were ready for a "4-H Hungry to Help" event. The fair allowed each person who brought 5 or more nonperishable food items to the fair to enter free. Also due to the carnival rides not being ready to roll they offered half price admission to folks coming to the fair. During the course of the fair almost 700 cans of food were collected and donated to the Robeson County Church and Community Center. Their food pantry shelves were empty until this donation came through.

The fair offers a variety of youth events, many are 4-H events. Please stay tuned as we give you the highlights and photos from each day. Feel free to also follow us on our Twitter site as we announce different events and excitement from the Robeson County Fair.

Getting Set Up

The countdown is on for the 64th annual Robeson County Fair. Of course we are excited about the fair in 4-H because it gives our youth and clubs the opportunity to strut their stuff for the thousands who come through the gate. However before the fair officially opens on Thursday there is lots of work to do.

Our youth and adults are entering their crafts, baked goods and artwork in the home exhibits building. Our clubs are setting up some incredible booths. After the fair opens our 4-H youth will be bringing their animals to make this a truly country fair.

If you would like information on events at our fair please check out the Robeson County Fair website or you can follow them on Facebook or Twitter. In the meantime stay tuned to the 4-H blog for updates and photos. We can tell even before the fair opens this is going to be a great year!

St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club Featured Locally

Did you see the Robesonian today? Following the lead of the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC) the Robesonian published a feature article on the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club fair project from 2009. The horse skeleton that youth put together for last year's fair project has been travelling to different schools in the county and offering an up close look at what 4-H is about. A hands on educational opportunity. If you did not see the article you can find it on line in the features section of today's Robesonian. Way to go Libby and Holly Burney and all the members of the St. Paul's 4-H Pony Club!

Dirty Rascals Get Messy for the Fair

What involves sand, paper pulp, and paint? Why the Dirty Rascals Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club fair booth of course. The members of the club as well as parents and volunteers met Saturday morning to get to work on the details of their fair booth. As with most fair booth projects the details are a secret. However I have been permitted to let our blog readers know that it involves recycling, plant science and environmental issues.

The fair theme of "4-H is..." is like a growing plant for this club. It is continuously developing, changing and branching out. The club members worked for more than three hours working on flower pots, recycled paper, grow cards and scenery.

If we have peeked your curiosity come out the the Robeson Regional Fair between September 30 and October 9th to see how this booth blossoms. You can also check out our other 4-H club booths in the commercial exhibits building the week of the fair. Not to mention other 4-H events, shows and exhibits.

Dirty Dozen Take Another Shot at the Fair

The Dirty Dozen 4-H Club met on Saturday morning to take another shot at their fair booth. The group met to work on props and layouts of their fair booth as well as finish up some of their displays.

"We're working at getting the nuts and bolts done," said Allen Monk, club member. Although we can not reveal the final layout of the booth to you I can tell you that the members were working hard at painting wooden display rifles, putting lots of club photos together, and even practiced a possible layout for the booth.

"We are hoping that this booth is educational for adults and youth," said club leader Larry Russ. All 4-H club booths must focus on the theme, "4-H is....." for each club that will take a different form, and highlight the activities and educational themes each club provides youth. No two clubs are exactly alike, there for they should show the great diversity that is in the 4-H program. The Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports club plans to meet again at the fairgrounds to set up their display.

Make sure to come to the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair to check out all of our booths and what 4-H has to offer.

Volunteers go High-Tech

We already know we have the greatest volunteers in the state but I love when they prove it to us again and again. Due to a change in scheduling we moved our volunteer training back a day to Monday at the last minute. Instead of the five who were signed up to attend, 17 showed up with the last minute change to make this a great training opportunity.

Kate Guerdat with the state 4-H office conducted an Elluminate training for volunteers around the state. For those of you who might be wondering Elluminate is similar to a video conference that takes place on a computer. It offers people who do not have the opportunity to use microphones to communicate to type messages or questions to the presenter, as well as vote on things, share web pages, PowerPoint presentations and more. The best thing about this is that it does not cost anything to take part, you just have to show up and listen and watch the screen.

Robeson County was one of five counties that took part in the training offered by the state office. Kate showed us the web page with all the new links for club paperwork, downloadable forms, and check lists to make sure the county 4-H office has everything they need to charter 4-H clubs. Since our new club year is October 1, 2010-September 30, 2011 we will be making the rounds to our clubs in October (after the fair) to fill out annual paperwork again.

For the volunteers we had mixed reviews on the technology some liked it, some did not. However everyone gained a little something from the meeting and we hope that with the help of our Robeson County 4-H staff all the paperwork will be a little easier to comprehend as we start our new club year in a few weeks.

Thank you to all the volunteers who came out for the training. We know we have the best volunteers in Robeson County and they prove it again and again.

Dirty Dozen take Aim on the Fair

The members of the Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club met today to get the fair in their sights and take aim on the best 4-H booth at the fair. However, first things first, Peggy Monk, a parent with the group and Bladen County 4-H volunteer did a civics lesson with the club. The members learned about what it takes to become a United States Citizen and realized if they had to take the test to become a citizen they would not be able to pass it. After talking about the responsibilities of being a citizen and learning more about the different branches of government they sat down to write thank you notes to the adults in Fairmont who have been supporting their club from behind the scenes. People like police chief Danny Parker and Laverne Hunt who keeps the range trimmed, weeds sprayed, and ants under control. The thank you notes will be delivered to the recipients this month.

After working and concentrating the youth got down to the hard part, working on the displays. After creating their designs on the computer the images were projected onto various display boards for them to trace out. Someone else was also in charge of cutting out club photos for the boards. The members also served as models as they worked on gun safety displays and talked about the things they practice at every meeting. After completing two of their displays they adjourned their meeting. The members will meet two more times this month to finish their displays and then set up their fair booth. We can't wait to see how it all comes together.

You will have the chance to see photos of the booth on our 4-H blog. However a photo rarely captures the actual grandeur of the booth and its educational value. So the best way to see it is in person at the Robeson Regional Fair which will take place September 30, 2010 thru October 9, 2010. For more information, advance tickets, entertainment and this years schedule please check the fair website.