Anyone growing up in rural areas likely has memories of attending a local county fair. Whether as an exhibitor, vendor or attendee, almost all of us have been to the fair.
In Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, you have to read nearly a quarter-page worth of definitions of the word “fair” until you find sub-sub-definition 5.2a: “a competitive exhibition (as of farm products) usually with accompanying entertainment and amusements.”
The definition may fit as an overall, simplistic view of area county fairs, but a closer look reveals a lot more. Open class entrants are really entering as competitors with their crafts, artwork, produce or livestock and being judged against other exhibitors’ entries. They can gain bragging rights, but also can see new types of techniques, cultivars, species or breeds that they may be able to utilize to strengthen their own production systems.
However, there is reason to disagree with Webster’s. To me, learning is as much a part of any county fair as competition or entertainment. This holds true for adults as well as youth.
The link to learning is hopefully very obvious for youth exhibitors as the projects they are displaying and having judged are the fruits of most of a year’s worth of project work. Most youth entries are judged on their merits alone and usually in a face-to-face judging situation, not competitively against the other youth entries in that class.
This allows judges to find out what youth have actually learned and not have to guess just based on the photo or other item in front of them. Judges who take their job seriously significantly help youth understand more about their projects, how to improve their presentations, why their entry is being placed as it is, and other helpful tidbits.
Livestock entries are usually placed from top to bottom, but are also still rewarded for their individual merit with a blue, red, white, etc., placement ribbon. This helps youth understand that you may not have the best exhibit in the ring that day, but your practices produced a top-notch animal, or that your practices need improvement to improve the growth and appearance of your entries in upcoming years.
Gillett and Wausaukee host the Oconto and Marinette county fairs, both held Aug. 22-25. Whether you normally attend every day of every year or haven’t been to a fair for quite a few years, it’s worth your time to check the fair schedules and attend at a time when you can see some of the judging, livestock events, entertainment or auctions.
Whatever you decide to attend, I can safely bet that you’ll get both entertainment and educational value out of your experience.
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