McHenry County 4-H Show Information

Show Dates 2025

4-H Judging Dates: Dates subject to change

June 7: Dog Fun Show 
June14: Dog Show 
July 8-9: Archery -Demonstration Judging
July 10: Air Rifle -Demonstration Judging
July 18 AM: General Project Judging - Sewing, Shopping, Interior Design, Photography, Computer Technologies, Robotics, Video, Individual & Group Cloverbud Projects - Bldg D
July 18 AM: General Project Judging - Visual Arts - 4-H Bldg
July 18 PM: General Project Judging - Animal/Vet Science, Cat & Small Pet show Civic Engagement & Service Learning, College & Career Readiness, Ready4Life, Communications, Consumer Education, Leadership, Child Development, Family Heritage, Health, Intercultural, Theatre arts - 4-H Bldg
July 19 AM: General Project Judging - ALL Natural Res. & Environment Projects, Shooting Sports displays, ALL Engineering & Technologies: Aerospace, Woodworking, Tractor, Small Engines, Bicycle, Electricity, Welding, Maker - 4-H Bldg
July 20: Rabbit Show
July 28 AM: General Project Judging - Food & Nutrition: Cooking, Food Science, Sports Nutrition; Horticulture & Floriculture; Crops, Plants & Soils; Exploratory, Collections, County projects: Lego, model, reading, sports, conservation/environment
July 28 : Livestock check-in begins
July 29-Aug 3 – McHenry County Fair
July 29: Goat, Poultry, Swine Carcass Class
July 30: Dairy, Sheep, Swine Showmanship 
July 31: Beef, Beef Carcass, Swine
July 31: 4-H Night
Aug 1: Horse show
Aug 2: Livestock Auction
Aug 3: Master Showman Competition
State Fair County Date: Aug 8 - See IL state website for more information

General Project Information

• 2025 McHenry County 4-H General Project Exhibit Guidelines Judging dates are July 18, 19 (most projects) & July 28 (food, horticulture, crops).
• Illinois 4-H Project information: including show guidelines, resources, judging sheets and more!
• McHenry County 4-H Project Report: Required for absentee projects ONLY.
• Photography Tip Sheet: Finding your photo's metadata.
• Photography Model Release
• Cooking 101, 201, 301, 401 Curriculum: Foods exhibits in Cooking 101,201,301, & 401 do NOT need the activity mentioned in the original exhibit guidelines.
• Cat Entry Sheet due July 1 for Cat Show
• More project resources

Cloverbud Resources:

• Cloverbud Project Report: Suggested for all Cloverbud projects
• Cloverbud Group Project Report: Suggested
• Cloverbud curriculum Utah 4-H: https://extension.usu.edu/utah4h/discover
• 4-H AT HOME: https://4-h.org/about/4-h-at-home/
• Big book of Cloverbud activities:
• Curriculum available on from the 4-H mall or check with the Extension office: https://shop4-h.org/collections/curriculum

Livestock Show Information

• 2025 Livestock Showbook ALL livestock shows are pending approval and these guidelines are NOT final! This is a preliminary copy for general livestock information ONLY to help you plan your potential livestock entries.
• 2025 Livestock Ownership Deadlines McHenry County will observe all Birth & Ownership dates set by the state, Tattoo & Weigh-in dates for Beef & Sheep.
• YQCA – Required for Beef, Dairy, Goats, Sheep & Swine.
  • Youth must register to attend a face-to-face class or certify on-line on the YQCA website: https://yqcaprogram.org/
  • Deadline July 1
• QAEC – Required for companion animals one time in a 4-H members career for each project area participating.
  • Includes: Cats, Dogs, Horse, Poultry, Rabbit, Small Pet
  • Open NOW: ZSuite
  • Deadline July 1
• Illinois 4-H Livestock Issues: State and Federal laws dictate the production and exhibition of livestock. Know what's required of you as an Illinois 4-H livestock producer and exhibitor.
• 4-H LIVESTOCK AUCTION: For questions, please contact the Livestock Committee.
• 2025 Auction Card
• 2025 Livestock Auction Brochure

Horse Show Information

Dog Show Information

Livestock Information