Catt. County Fair is a Go!
Catt. County Fair is a Go!
4-H youth educators and club members excited to return to live events
It’s official: this summer, the fairgrounds in Little Valley will come alive for the Cattaraugus County Fair from Aug. 1st-8th! Cattaraugus County 4-H Youth Educators Carrie Busekist and Abigail Luzier are thrilled with the recent announcement, especially given the disappointment of last year’s cancellation. “We’re very happy the fair is happening this year!” said Busekist. “Now we can concentrate on what will happen in person this year depending on what the protocols are at that point.”
Although events and entertainment for this year’s fair are still in the planning stages, 4-H members are already hard at work on their fair projects. “Most or all of the market animal projects - like beef, pigs, goats and sheep - have all been purchased or born on the farm,” Busekist explained. “We start poultry next, beginning with turkeys next week, and chickens a few weeks after that.”
Last year, despite the cancellation of the fair, 4-H youth had the opportunity to raise and sell their animals and even learn a new platform for selling. “Last year, we were able to offer the kids a virtual platform to sell their animals or do private treaties,” Busekist said. “Instead of the auction process, if they had a ready buyer, they could draw up a contract with our help. Also, we did a virtual showcase: on our Facebook page and our website, kids submitted pictures and videos of their animals or projects. Each day of what would have been the fair, we posted those videos on our virtual platform.”
Over the past year, many 4-H clubs have been meeting virtually. On the Cattaraugus County 4-H group’s Facebook page, Busekist has done live demonstrations on everything from maple syrup making to STEAM projects like coding. “Throughout the 4-H year, which begins in October, we've been doing virtual craft days. We even did a pie-baking and muffin baking contest. As things have opened up this spring, and when we did have nice weather, we were able to do socially-distanced and masked activities and a few things this fall.”
While 4-H members were appreciative of alternative opportunities to participate, the live, in-person fair was deeply missed by all. Busekist noted, “The disappointment was completely understandable. The fair was one more thing they had to lose, which is tough because it’s the social event of the year in the 4-H community!”
This year, she and Luzier are gearing up for a promising fair week and anticipating much greater participation. “This year, we have close to 300 members, county-wide, and with the announcement of the fair, we’ll probably have more who will join,” Busekist explained. “In addition to the animal projects, we’re also planning to display handmade projects in person.”
4-H members’ projects include artwork, baked goods, collections, crafts, photography, textiles and more. Busekist explained that these projects would be judged in two different sessions on two different days so that members, their projects, and judges are safely distanced.
While the pandemic has certainly affected the organization of this year’s fair, in many ways it’s still “business as usual” for the county 4-H program. “In the 4-H world, you adapt,” said Busekist. “You never know what could happen at the fair, because there's a lot of moving parts!”
Busekist said that 4-H has their safety plan in place per the state’s regulations, and they’ll be able to implement it even before the fair begins. She said, “We're actually hosting in-person horse shows in May and June, so that will give us the ability to test out the protocols that we've put in place. We’re really excited to finally be doing events in person again!”
4-H is open to children ages 5 to 18, and those interested in joining can visit http://cattaraugus.cce.cornell.edu/4-h-youth or email cattaraugus4H@cornell.edu. For pictures of past events and fairs, follow Cattaraugus County 4-H on Facebook.