It’s halfway through the week for the Bedford County Fair. If you haven’t made your way there yet, you may want to check out their new Sky Diver ride and all of the great projects at the 4-H barns.
“4-H is a very important part of the Bedford County Fair as well as the Bedford County Fair is a very important part of 4-H,” said Dwayne Hay, 4-H Educator. “I think a lot of reasons why we have such a strong youth program here in Bedford County is because of the fair and the animal science projects that are carried here.”
The Bedford County Fair is notorious for all of the barns filled with animals, all taken care of by dedicated 4-H’ers of all ages.
“4-H… 58 years,” recalls Wayne Koontz. “I’ve been… our family has been to the fair 88 years consecutively.”
Koontz is in charge of the dairy barn. He said they have had at least 90 kids involved in the club over the years, including kids who never grew up on a farm, but wanted to learn about animals.
“They all learn and they have to take care of their own,” he said. “They have to keep a project book. They have to turn that in. They have to show in the shows and that’s how they complete their project for the year.”
If you are looking to get involved in 4-H, you don’t need an animal to do so. There are plenty of other projects you can learn about, get involved in, and maybe even win awards for.
“A lot of our 4-H members will do projects in photography and art,” Hay said. “We have vegetables that are put on display. We have baked goods. Sewing and clothing and textile projects can be put on display here.”
No matter the project you want to work on, you get to do it with your community.
“We have the best kids in the county here because they have work ethic and they have something to keep them occupied,” Koontz said. “They’re not sitting on the sofa with their electronics.”
The Bedford County Fair ends July 30th.