The Daviess County Cooperative Extension Office had 190 entries in their 4-H exhibit this year. Of those, 83 are eligible to compete at the Kentucky State Fair in Cloverville, the host of 6,000 4-H Commonwealth member exhibits annually.
Sharayha Clingenpeel, the 4-H youth development extension agent, said there are many classes for youth to enter. An exhibit entry book contains information for those involved in 4-H to see the rules, divisions and classes that are determined by the state 4-H office.
“4-H exhibits are divided into divisions, and each division has multiple classes,” Clingenpeel said. “Each division also has its own rules on how many entries are allowed per person.”
Throughout the year, those involved in 4-H complete projects and utilize 4-H curriculums to create items at home. Some of these categories include geology, needlework, home environment, foods, photography and arts.
The entries are accepted the day before the Daviess County Lions Club Fair begins and the exhibit hall is closed while entries are judged.
“After judging, items are put on display,” she said. “When the fairgrounds open at night, the exhibit building, which also has FFA, Open Adult, and Open Youth classes, is open for people to look at the entries. When the fair ends, exhibitors come back to pick up their entries.”
Using the Danish system for scoring, entries receive either a blue, red or white ribbon and are determined on whether the requirements and standards are met within each division.
“There is one champion for each class,” Clingenpeel said. “Premium money is awarded based on ribbon color.”
The champion of each class is also marked with a sticker that says, “Eligible for the State Fair,” and those are also posted to the DC Cooperative Extension Office Facebook page.
Before they are shared on social media, the exhibit building is open for visitors to see the entry tags and determine how well each did.
Entries in the state fair can be seen in Cloverville August 18-28 in the West Hall of the Kentucky Exposition Center located in Louisville. For a more detailed schedule of activities, click here.
