My 4-H experience at Ayer’s Cliff Fair
ISubmitted by Emily Young President of the Hatley 4-H Club
have been attending the Ayer’s Cliff Fair since I was a baby; I have been attending as a 4-H member since around the age of 5. The Ayer’s Cliff Fair is my hometown fair, it is where I walk around and see familiar faces all weekend long, whether its in the pioneer building buying some popcorn, getting some cotton candy or lemonade or grabbing supper for the family at Derby’s truck! Everyone knows everyone and we are all here to have a good time.
On Thursday night I start out the fair with the yearly judging competition held for all the 4-H members, we usually judge dairy cows and beef cows and then sometimes a class of hay or seeds. It is a learning experience to see how the animals will be placed by the judge compared to how we think they should be placed, we then all go get a good night sleep because Friday is 4-H show day!
On Friday we get up bright and early. You can already feel the excitement in the air, everyone is prepping their animals for show whether it’s a cow or a chicken. We get dressed in our nice show clothes, we watch our friends show and cheer them on and we put on our big smiles as we walk into the ring.
Show day is always exciting, but also always nerve racking, from when you’re a little kid showing a chicken to when you grow up and become one of the older kids that the little ones are watching and learning from. You always try to do your best and push yourself the hardest you can but show day doesn’t always end up in your favour. Sometimes you leave the ring disappointed, but that’s okay because that is how you learn, that is how you become a better showman. I couldn’t tell you how many times I had left the ring in tears because my older sisters had more experience. They knew what they were doing more than I did, because they too had been beaten at some point and understood how I was feeling. They taught me to persevere. They taught me that even if you give it your all, sometimes your animal doesn’t want to cooperate, sometimes you forget your animal’s date of birth and that makes you lose a couple of points, but you will always have the memories of the show. I don’t remember how many times I lost but I do remember all of the times I had fun, all of the times that showing my animal taught me how to push myself in life, how to become a better showman and a better person because I can cheer others on, I can congratulate them when they beat me because its not all about the first place ribbon. Its about the experience you get from being in the 4-H.
Saturday at the fair is open show day. It is another full show day, yet somehow we feel the difference in the competition. It has shifted from being between kids to being between adults, but it is always just as much fun though! On Sunday we have our parade, were we walk in front of the grandstand with our animals and have a lot of fun showing off our ribbons and the show animal that we spent our weekend with. Following the parade our 4-H club used to do the turkey auction after the parade where all proceeds went to the Children’s wish foundation, however this was the last year for Music fest so instead of doing the turkey auction, the members of the 4-H who have a turkey to donate will be donating it to the charity of their choice.
If you’re heading to the Ayer’s Cliff Fair, be sure to stop at the poultry barn to see all of the 4-H chickens that have been raised by members and are being shown.
Members receive ten chickens every spring and spend the summer feeding and taking care of them. They then bring them to the fair to show off how much they learned and see how their chickens place against other members. If you catch a member in the poultry barn I’m sure they would be happy to tell you the names and breeds of their chickens. Also, stop and grab an ice cream at the 4-H Ice cream booth under the grandstand to help support us! The Hatley 4-H gave a demonstration at the Canada Day in Hatley this year, members showed the crowd how to clip, show, and take care of their 4-H animals.