What Would Summer Be Without the County 4-H Fair?

What would summer be without the Cape May County 4-H Fair? It is the closest we come to having an old-fashioned county fair. With luck, and good weather, it will likely draw a large crowd beginning tomorrow and continuing until Saturday night.
As with so many events, the 4-H Fair definitely means different things to assorted people.
To the 4-H members who have worked on projects, including livestock or inanimate displays, the fair is a time of judgment.
To many children, it is an opportunity to enjoy amusement rides just like on the boardwalk, but surrounded by trees.
Others look upon the fair as a place to enjoy barbecued chicken on long picnic tables with people you never before met. After dinner, what would the fair be without one of those (forget the calorie counters) funnel cakes, liberally dusted with powdered sugar, then washed down with fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Teens eagerly anticipate the fair as an opportunity to meet friends and “hang out.” They are conveniently “lost” from their parents who, by this time in their young lives, have become people to be tolerated but little more.
I know folks who go to the fair simply to meet people they have not met or talked with since last year’s fair. To those attendees, the fair serves a social purpose.
For equestrian club members, the fair is a somewhat extended time with their steeds. They will remain on site with them near the livestock exhibit areas from Wednesday until Sunday.
Many county residents simply go to the fair to bring back memories of their own days in 4-H. I include myself in that group. The time spent in Larry Newbold’s entomology club, Henry White’s “Otway H. Brown Tree Club” and Henry Ahrendts’ “Shutterbugs Photo Club” helped in those formative years. Today, as a way to “pay back,” I lead several future photographers who are members of the “Say Cheese Photo Club.”
This is what 4-H and the fair is all about, placing youth where its achievements can be seen, letting the public see the many good things today’s young people are doing.
Surely, this year will be a dusty one for those 4-H horse club members who will, throughout the fair, partake in riding events of all sorts.
Buyers of fat lambs and hogs will eye up the grand champion and reserve champions. By purchasing one of those animals, they will bring a 4-H member’s project full circle from raising and tending to one of them for the better part of a year.
Vendors of all sorts look on the fair as a time to bolster sales or attract new customers.
Regardless of the reasons to attend, the key component that will be overlooked is the importance that 4-H plays in the lives of so many Cape May County boys and girls.
The entire 4-H experience is changing. No longer is ownership of a horse, cow or living on a farm a reason to be a member. Today, there is a focus on science and technology. There are diverse clubs that are open to every boy and girl who wishes to join.
As with many other youth organizations, there remains a need for adult leaders. All that is required is a minimum of five members to form a club. After that, the rest is up to the members and their leaders. There are some longtime leaders, but there are also new ones
For adults who believe they have something to offer the younger generation, why not consider starting a club?
Whatever one’s skill or affinity, there are probably at least five young people who would like to join such a 4-H club.
There are some 4-H clubs that meet directly in schools after the day ends. Other clubs meet in leaders’ homes while a few convene at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office on Court House-South Dennis Road.
Should you still need one extra compelling reason to head to the 4-H Fair, it can be fun, old fashioned as that concept may be. I don’t know about you, but there are some times when I think, “Remember when you did stuff, just because it was fun? Like watching clouds or riding a bike down North Main Street in Court House just because you don’t have to pedal.” Such frivolity makes many adults feel, well, silly, but we need that comic relief sometimes.
At the 4-H Fair, you can look at the hogs and wonder what they think about you. You can watch chicks hatch, and think what a gift life is. You can buy trinkets and cotton candy, and realize none of it is any good for you, but it’s just fun. Throw caution to the wind and slide down the Big Slide, and scream like a kid again.
Yes, what would summer be without the 4-H Fair?