The Stephenson County 4-H is gearing up for our summer shows. Even before the official start of the local county fair, most 4-H activities will be taking place at the Stephenson County Fairgrounds.  From foods to livestock, and horticulture to rabbits, 4-H members will exhibit many projects at this year’s shows.  Following is a summary of the activities that are planned:

Wednesday, July 17

At 9 a.m., the 4-H General Projects Day will take place in the two large commercial buildings at the fairgrounds.  4-H members will bring out their 4-H projects to be judged in a conference-style platform by judges. This will be a full morning of judging projects such as Aerospace, Natural Resources, Visual Arts, Woodworking, and Animal Science, to name a few.

Friday, July 19
We will be holding our Sewing & Textiles, Food Decorating, & Flower Arranging Shows at the Highland Community College- Community Resource Building R. The Clothing & Textiles show will begin at 9 a.m. Food Decorating/ Candy Making starts at 9:45 a.m. And lastly, the flower arranging will start at 1 p.m.

Saturday, July 20
The 4-H Horse show will take place at the Stephenson County Fairgrounds. Starting at 8:30 a.m. Feel free to come out and bring lawn chairs to enjoy the show! We will have the Benchwarmer’s food truck on site with all kinds of food to enjoy!!

Monday, July 22
A full slate of shows begins at 9 a.m. with Crops, Foods, and Horticulture & Floriculture projects in the 4-H Building at the fairgrounds.  Cloverbuds aged 5 to 7 years old will have their projects judged in the 4-H Building starting at 1:00 p.m. 

Tuesday, July 23
The day begins with the Rabbit Show at 8:30 a.m. in the Rabbit/Poultry barn.  The Poultry show will begin at 8:45 a.m. in the Poultry/Rabbit barn. The Sheep, Beef, and Swine Shows will begin in their respective barns starting at 9 a.m. At 9:30 a.m., the 4-H Dairy & Dairy Goat Show will occur in their respective barns. The Meat Goat Show will follow the Dairy Goat Show.

A fun evening of activities is scheduled for 4-H families inside of the 4-H building, taking place from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening. There, we will be announcing trophy winners, recognizing our 2024 4-H Hall of Fame nominee, and recognizing our Diamond & Emerald Clover Experience winners, along with games, activities, and root beer floats. We invite all of our 4-H members and families to come out for a fun evening!

Saturday, July 27
The Master Showmanship Contest will begin at 1 p.m. in the swine show ring. This contest is coordinated by the Stephenson County Farm Bureau & the Stephenson County 4-H. 4-H members ages 14-18 (as of 9/1/2023), who are enrolled in a livestock project through 4-H may participate. Registration is required by July 24.

Master Showmanship is a contest where 4-H members will show a sheep, pig, and beef animal and are individually scored on how they did with each species. The top 2 winners will receive a cash award and a special prize from the Stephenson County Farm Bureau. We invite all family and friends to come on out and watch this very fun and exciting competition!

Throughout the week of the Stephenson County Fair, the 4-H building will be full of 4-H projects on display for our community to see. The local 4-H members have worked so hard on this project! We will have a coloring table for youngsters, hands-on activities at 3 p.m. Wednesday- Friday, yard games that will change daily, and a fun life-sized straw couch. Come check out our 4-H building and the projects, and take a moment to sit down and relax, too!

There will also be a couple of contests: a Garbology contest where 4-H members paint garbage cans to promote the theme ‘4-H…Our Roots Run Deep!’ Be sure to look for these cans throughout the fairgrounds!  Returning this year, our 10 local 4-H clubs will decorate a round bale at the fairgrounds! Each club has its own theme, and we ask the public to watch for them as you walk around the fairgrounds. Each decorated Hay Bale will have a yard sign with a QR code on it, for you to scan and vote on the spot for your “favorite” hay bale at the fair! We will give out 1st, 2nd & 3rd place and a people’s choice award!  Lastly, our 4-H Ambassadors are collecting Canned Goods for their Food Drive Campaign for our local food pantries this summer. We are collecting non-perishable canned food items in our 4-H building during the fair week. If you would like to support your local food pantries, please feel free to bring your non-perishable canned food items to the 4-H building and drop them in our box Tuesday- Saturday. All donations will be donated to the local food pantries within Stephenson County!

For more information on any of these events, contact University of Illinois Extension-Stephenson County at 815-235-4125.