Amid uncertainty, Johnson County youth prepped this year’s 4-H projects as normally as possible, but one question remained on everyone’s minds: would there be a fair?
The answer is yes, but it will look a lot different.
The 4-H community was rocked by the Johnson County Fair Board’s decision to cancel rides and commercial vendors at the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair.
Animal shows—with the exception of the dog show—will continue with social distancing in place and a much smaller audience. 4-H leaders canceled the dog show because Dog Club members did not get enough time to practice with their animals in person to conduct a show safely, said Heather Dougherty, 4-H educator with the Johnson County Purdue Extension Office.
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Hearing that the dog show was canceled was a big disappointment for Mila Owens, a 15-year-old Franklin girl, and her Boston Terrier, Marvin. Owens is still able to show her bearded dragon in the Small Animal Project and her fish in the Aquatic Science Project, but the dog show is something she and Marvin will miss, she said.
“With Dog Club, I took things a little more personally. It doesn’t just affect me. My dog loves Dog Club, too. He has been a little depressed not having that socialization. It affects other dogs too,” Owens said.
Because dogs are shown on leashes and have always been at least six feet away from judges, Owens questions the need to cancel and says other kids feel the same way. Though it might have been rough to bring everyone together for the show, it would have been possible, she said.
“It is disappointing. We work from the first week of January until August. We put so much time, effort and money into it,” Owens said.
Souchon and Dougherty said the main reason for canceling was uncertainty. Leaders could not be sure how the dogs would act at the show after not being exposed to others for so long and not having in-person training since March, they said.
With a waiver in place, cat and small animal projects will go on this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a set of guidelines which recommend against showing small mammals such as cats, guinea pigs and hamsters, because the mammals may be able to contract COVID-19 from humans. But the Indiana State Board of Animal Health got a waiver that allows those 4-H shows to continue, Dougherty said.
Though the show will go on, it will have a different appearance than normal, 4-H leaders say. Since the general public cannot attend shows, large animal shows will be broadcast online. However, rabbit, poultry, cat and small animal shows will not be broadcast, said Rob Souchon, 4-H council president and fair board member.
Static projects such as photography and arts and crafts will not be judged in person, but will be displayed at the fair for a select few family members to see, Dougherty said.
4-H leaders are looking at ways to make photos or videos of projects available online, but are not sure yet if that is feasible, Souchon said.
Each 4-H member will be allowed a set number of guests each day, and the guests will wear wristbands to let volunteers know they are permitted on the fairgrounds, Souchon said. The bands will be required to get into animal shows and the exhibit hall, he said.
Despite all the changes, 4-H youth say they are glad they get to show their work to an audience, albeit small, knowing that youth in other counties won’t get to this year. About 37 Indiana counties will be entirely virtual, Dougherty said.
This year, 1,201 youth in the county signed up for 4-H, with 250 of those in Mini 4-H, Dougherty said.
Most 4-H youth are expected to move forward with their projects, but a few have said they either have scheduling conflicts or decided to nix their projects for different reasons. Some 4-Hers struggled to complete projects because they were planning to get help from their grandparents, whom they can’t see right now due to their elevated risk of contracting the virus, or their club wasn’t able to meet for the last few months, Souchon said.
For the other animal shows to proceed, several changes had to be implemented, such as wearing masks when social distancing is not possible, only allowing animals at the fairgrounds on show day and keeping animals out of the holding area until show time, Dougherty said.
Also, kids who are showing animals that aren’t on a lead rope will have to wear masks in the show arena; this includes swine, which are driven around the ring in close quarters, as well as cats, rabbits, poultry and small animals, which are handled directly by the 4-Her who will be face-to-face with a judge.
The kids are handling the mask mandate better than some adults, Souchon said. The 4-H Junior Leaders recently masked up to lead pre-fair set-up and set a good example for other 4-Hers joining them, said Souchon, who also supervises the junior leaders project. Most of the adult volunteers were OK wearing masks when they had to be near each other once Purdue’s policies were explained, he said.
For swine project members, wearing masks means being able to have a somewhat normal show, said Mike Pruitt, fair board member and swine superintendent.
Other large livestock have leads that create automatic social distancing. But with about eight pigs being driven around the show arena with a show stick jostling for a good position in front of the judge, social distancing just isn’t possible. With masks, the kids get to have their work with the animal recognized, he said.
Kids and project leaders alike are saddened that many will miss out on the entertainment aspect of the shows. But being able to watch online will be good for both family members who can’t attend and those near and far who want to learn more about 4-H and livestock showing, Pruitt said.
“This is an opportunity for people to tune in and watch and learn what 4-H is about,” he said. “People think the fair is all about the food and the carnival. People see the animals, but they don’t understand the time and commitment kids put in to raise the animals.”
Ian Blazer, an Indian Creek eighth grader who participates in Goat Club, shooting sports and Lego projects has mixed feelings about the fair. He is glad he gets to exhibit his projects, but disappointed the livestock auction is canceled, he said.
“I know now that I can’t sell him. And it will be another mouth to feed,” Blazer said.
In place of the auction will be a recognition fund for 4-H members who would normally sell their animals at the auction, according to the county’s 4-H guidelines. The fair board is seeking donations for the fund from past auction buyers, Dougherty said.
Jessica Noel, a 10-year member and graduating senior from Southwestern Jr.-Sr. High School, said she is trying to stay positive going into her last fair. Finishing her final semester via eLearning allowed her to stay busy preparing her pigs, goats, rabbits and crops to exhibit at the fair.
“I have adapted pretty well. With it being my last year in high school and 4-H … it is just another obstacle we have to face and take it as it is,” Noel said.
The junior leaders are also trying to project positivity this year, said Sydney Clements, junior leaders president and Franklin Community High School senior. Though times are unusual, Clements hopes 4-Hers will still give it their best and strive for a place at the State Fair, she said.
Clements, too, was shaken by the news the cat show was at risk of being canceled, and understands why people might be frustrated with the changes, she said. Still, she hopes 4-H families will be grateful to be together again after being apart for months, Clements said.
“It was good to be in that environment again,” Clements said, of her job at pre-fair set-up. “The 4-Hers have become my second family. Being around them was good after being shut inside away from them for a while.”
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Here is a look at how you can watch live-streams of this year’s fair activities:
Visit waltonwebcasting.com during fair week, which runs Sunday through July 25.
The first events to be broadcast will be the horse and pony show, at 9 a.m. Sunday, and the Johnson County 4-H Fair Queen Contest, at 6 p.m. Sunday.
The full schedule of events can be found at waltonwebcasting.com/upcoming-events/.
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