Animals To Be Absent From This Summer’s Fair
May 27, 2020 at 10:45 p.m.
Animals To Be Absent From This Summer’s Fair
By Amanda [email protected]
That’s because there won’t be any 4-H animals at the fair this year due to the current health emergency.
Purdue University Kosciusko County Extension Director Kelly Heckaman said the 4-H animal shows will be held July 6-10 for the 4-H child and their immediate families only. The 104th annual Kosciusko County Fair is slated for July 12-18.
“We will be doing a 4-H show only, with no spectators and not open to the public,” Heckaman said, adding there will be a few species that will have shows at alternative dates yet to be determined, but before Oct. 1.
Also new is that the animals will not be allowed to stay overnight in the barns, because the barns will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized overnight, Heckaman said.
However, some 4-H families may not feel comfortable attending the live private shows, so the option to send in a video is available.
“They can either show in the live show in-person or they can also exhibit their animal via pictures of video virtually if they’re not comfortable being in a group of people yet,” Heckaman said.
She also said that the fair board and the Extension Office are working together to livestream some of the animal shows for people to be able to watch them online.
More details will be released as the time gets closer, Heckaman said.
“In my mind, we were just talking to surrounding states and there’s no activities or fairs in Michigan and other states have closed completely until Oct. 1,” she said. “So I’m hoping that our families are thankful we have this opportunity to exhibit their animal in front of a judge in a live setting if they so choose.”
The 4-H enrollment deadline is Monday, Heckaman said, so she plans to have a better picture of how many 4-H’ers are going to enroll animals to show after then.
“When this all started back in March, it was a question of do I buy some of my 4-H animals, do I not, so we don’t know how many families made the decision, and we won’t know until probably July how many families are going to opt to do it virtually versus in person,” she said. “And the other thing that could change all of this at any point is we have to be in Stage 5. If the county’s not in Stage 5, then we won’t be having the in-person show. It’ll all go to virtual. That’s our back-up plan.”
Anyone with questions can contact the Extension Office at 574-372-2340; or the Kosciusko County Fair Office at 574-269-1823.
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That’s because there won’t be any 4-H animals at the fair this year due to the current health emergency.
Purdue University Kosciusko County Extension Director Kelly Heckaman said the 4-H animal shows will be held July 6-10 for the 4-H child and their immediate families only. The 104th annual Kosciusko County Fair is slated for July 12-18.
“We will be doing a 4-H show only, with no spectators and not open to the public,” Heckaman said, adding there will be a few species that will have shows at alternative dates yet to be determined, but before Oct. 1.
Also new is that the animals will not be allowed to stay overnight in the barns, because the barns will be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized overnight, Heckaman said.
However, some 4-H families may not feel comfortable attending the live private shows, so the option to send in a video is available.
“They can either show in the live show in-person or they can also exhibit their animal via pictures of video virtually if they’re not comfortable being in a group of people yet,” Heckaman said.
She also said that the fair board and the Extension Office are working together to livestream some of the animal shows for people to be able to watch them online.
More details will be released as the time gets closer, Heckaman said.
“In my mind, we were just talking to surrounding states and there’s no activities or fairs in Michigan and other states have closed completely until Oct. 1,” she said. “So I’m hoping that our families are thankful we have this opportunity to exhibit their animal in front of a judge in a live setting if they so choose.”
The 4-H enrollment deadline is Monday, Heckaman said, so she plans to have a better picture of how many 4-H’ers are going to enroll animals to show after then.
“When this all started back in March, it was a question of do I buy some of my 4-H animals, do I not, so we don’t know how many families made the decision, and we won’t know until probably July how many families are going to opt to do it virtually versus in person,” she said. “And the other thing that could change all of this at any point is we have to be in Stage 5. If the county’s not in Stage 5, then we won’t be having the in-person show. It’ll all go to virtual. That’s our back-up plan.”
Anyone with questions can contact the Extension Office at 574-372-2340; or the Kosciusko County Fair Office at 574-269-1823.
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