University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H participates in the Piscataquis Valley Fair
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Five 4-H clubs from Piscataquis County, the Solon Pine Tree Club from Somerset County and the Morison Memorial School Kids Can Grow after-school group from Penobscot County participated in the Piscataquis Valley Fair, which was held from Aug. 22-25. There were educational club exhibits, a poster contest, and over 120 individual projects entered for display. In addition to the displays, children were invited to learn about wind power by making “human powered air circulators” (also called fans), making pinwheels and generating electricity using a small windmill. They could also learn about the effects of static electricity on a variety of common powdered substances. The Adventures in Health Science-Guilford group, took blood pressures for fair-goers on Friday.
The Mid-Maine Minutemen Boys and Girls Club won first place in the club exhibit entries with their interactive shooting sports education board. Second place went to the Parkman Area Adventure Club for their mobile titled “Brainstorm”. Third place was claimed by the Adventures in Health Science — Greenville group for their poster about how to bandage a wound. Each of the clubs received a premium for their excellent work.
The theme for this year’s poster contest was “A Century of Maine 4-H.” Like the individual project entries, the posters were judged using the Danish system. In the Danish system, entries are judged against a standard, rather than against other entries. Excellent entries closest to the standard receive a blue ribbon, red ribbons represent entries that have specific errors and a white ribbon indicates that many improvements would be needed to meet the standard.
In addition to the blue, red and white ribbons, two individual project entries received purple Best In Show awards. This year those awards went to Shea-Lyn Moulton for her creative writing entry “Unsinkable” and to Tyler Libby for his display of a well-equipped backpack for hiking. Both Moulton and Libby are members of the Parkman Area Adventure Club.
In addition to the exhibition hall, 4-H is also involved in Animal Land. Some of the animals there belonged to 4-H members, who helped to care for the animals and taught the public about them. This year fair-goers could see a miniature horse, a miniature donkey, chickens and roosters along with 17 chicks that hatched out at the fair, rabbits and a pig. Pigs from the pig scramble stayed at Animal Land until their new owners were ready to take them home.
There are many people who volunteer their time to make the fair possible. Thanks to everyone who organized and cared for the animals at Animal Land, the judges who evaluated all the entries in the exhibit hall, the parents who brought their children and helped out with the activities and the Master Gardeners who assisted in the exhibit hall and brought their expertise to share.