4-H Fair celebrates hard work of students in Delaware County

The 4-H Fair culminates months of hard work students put in raising livestock and learning agriculture and animal care techniques. Credit: Provided

Leave your city slicker ways behind this weekend at Delaware County’s 4-H Fair.

The 4-H Fair is a culmination of months of hard work students put in raising livestock and learning agriculture and animal care techniques. But more than that, says 4-H youth educator Devin Cunningham, it’s a chance to remind ourselves that “milk doesn’t come from aisle 3 at Acme.”

“Our situation in Delaware County is extremely unique. We’re the only 4-H cooperative farm in the state of Pennsylvania,” Cunningham says. “Without this farm, these children in an urban and suburban setting wouldn’t be able to see the wonders of farming, raising animals and appreciating how much work and dedication goes into the simplicities of life we all take for granted.”

Visiting the fair this weekend is a chance for everyone to get an inside look at what it takes to get food from farm to fork.

About 150 Delaware County students have spent months on various projects and will show off their accomplishments at the fair. It starts Friday with the fair opening at 4 p.m., an opening ceremony at 6 p.m. and a horse show. 4-H students will compete on horseback through an obstacle course for the best time and skills.

“Saturday, we kick it off nice and early at 9 a.m. and run all the way until 5 (p.m.) We start with our market hog show. We have eight Yorkshire pigs that members raised from little piglets—they probably weigh about 275 pounds now,” Cunningham says.

Following that comes the market lamb show with almost two dozen lambs the students helped raise. Saturday afternoon, all of those animals go on public auction in one of the realities of farm life—you eat what you raise.

On Saturday, there will be events like tractor rides, pony rides, a bake sale, demonstrations and exhibits about farm life. 4-H students will be on hand to answer questions about their agriculture projects.

“4-H is an opportunity to provide some education insight into modern-day agriculture. Not a lot of people, in the Philadelphia region and also across the country, have much interaction with farmers,” Cunningham says. “We open up our refrigerators and use a lot of agricultural products, but we’re not familiar with where they come from.”

Most of the 4-H fair is free. Students will collect parking donations and there are nominal charges for some activities.

If you go

The Delaware County 4-H Fair runs Friday (4-9 p.m.), Saturday (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Sunday (1-4 p.m.) at Garrett Williamson Foundation, 395 Bishop Hollow Rd., Newtown Square.

The Chester County 4-H Fair continues through Saturday. Credit: Provided

Not the Only 4-H Fair in Town

Chester County also holds its own 4-H Fair this week. The fair started Monday and goes strong through Saturday afternoon.

On Wednesday-Friday, the fair opens at 10 a.m. with events like livestock sales, project exhibits, robotics demonstrations and a dairy show. On Saturday, the fair opens at 8 a.m. with a horse show and a day of exhibits about agriculture open to the public.

The fair is at the Roman 4-H Center of Chester County, Route 322, in Honey Brook. For the full run down of the week’s activities, visit extension.psu.edu/4-h/counties.

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