County Fair Showcases New Faces & Critters of Orcas 4-H Members

2012 Theme: Food, Fun, Fair!

By Brigid Ehrmantraut

The 2012 San Juan County Fair kicked off this morning with a bang! Dedicated exhibitors and competitors were already tired from Tuesday’s long evening of set-up and decoration, but enthusiasm was aplenty and the dusty, 80 degree air practically hummed (or possibly cock-a-doo-dal-doo’d) with excitement on the first day of an island annual tradition.

A long time 4-H member, this was the first year in a very long time that I did not have any animals entered in the Fair, leaving me remarkably free to wander the fairgrounds simply observing my friends’ projects and critters…. And run errands for various 4-H leaders I have gotten to know over the years,

• and help kids practice showing their rabbits,
• and find the cavy study questions,
• and volunteer to help out in the still life barn,
• and enlighten my compatriots to new rules and regulations,
• and find the poultry questions,
• and run around tents and steers and third-graders with boxes of ribbons for cat showmanship….

Actually, this might turn out to be the busiest year yet for this reporter!

The morning began with 10 a.m. cavy (guinea pig) and rabbit showmanship.

The previous two hours were spent in anxious consternation as run-away bunnies were corralled and white shirts were scrubbed clean of rodent and lagomorph fur alike, but everyone (and their rabbits) were still vaguely blurry-eyed as they approached the judge’s table. It was the beginning of what will prove to be a long, sunburned, thirsty, and totally enjoyable week for many 4-Hers.

Swine showmanship followed close upon the heels (or should I say metatarsals) of the rabbits and cavies. This proved a bit more of an energetic show as kids chased and prodded, and were chased and prodded by, their pigs. Junior showman Lilia Greening single-handedly revived the Orcas Swine 4-H program with her two ginormous hogs, one of which received a lovely purple Grand Champion rosette.

“My pigs are the biggest ones here!” she proudly proclaimed.

Her brother, Axel Greening, has also reinstated a large livestock project on Orcas with his  Dexter steer, Jude. Jude made an appearance at last year’s fair too, as his breed takes two years to mature.

Both the Greenings and their animals will appear at Saturday’s 4-H Livestock Auction at 2:00 p.m. in the 4-H arena. It’s always good to see new bidders attend the auction along with veteran 4-H supporters, so come and check it out! Who knows, you might end up going home with a lamb or part of a hog!

Orcas kids have a long tradition of helping to start or restart obscure or under appreciated projects. Camryn Thompson joined the all too thin ranks of cat 4-H members with her kitty Sucia today. Nisha Woolworth, another Orcas Islander, was the sole Primary member of cavy 4-H this morning with her adorable guinea pig (who, I might add, is the mother of virtually the entirety of the Orcas cavy kids’ guinea pigs). I was exceedingly pleased to see that the meat goat project I helped to initiate last year was alive and thriving under the Lopez 4-H club, though there is plenty of room for expansion there.

This year, while starting off quite promisingly, is tinged with sadness and a little nostalgia as it marks the passing of many veteran 4-H animals. A long standing show dog, Orcas Islander Kelsey Guyer’s canine Looker departed for doggy heaven earlier this year. A few years ago, Looker helped Kelsey win not only Dog Showmanship in San Juan County but at the State Fair itself and  patiently tolerated legions of 4-H kids as they learned to show. San Juan member, Keegan Herbert was in mourning for his record-sized cavy, Lucky Foot (who appeared on last year’s Fair posters and t-shirts) and I lamented the loss of two of my show birds, Dax and Athena towards the end of last month. Some of the Orcas Rabbit contingent has also passed on.

As always, there’s lots to see and do at this year’s County Fair. Poultry (including turkey), Sheep, Dog, and Goat showmanship are to occur on Thursday, Friday will bring the Small Animal Costume Contest and ongoing Horse Games, and Saturday is Small and Large Animal Round Robin, the Livestock Auction, 4-H Still Life Silent Auction, and the 4-H Awards Ceremony.

This is the first year I find I cannot say “See you at the Fair!” in anything more than a purely hypothetical capacity, as I won’t actually be there again until Saturday. I hope you go nonetheless!