CUMBERLAND — Along with the carnival rides, games and fried food, the Allegany County Fair and Ag Expo features various livestock shows and indoor exhibits for kids.
Starting last Friday, 4-H’ers have flocked to the fairgrounds pavilion to show off the pigs, cows, goats, horses, bunnies and other animals that some have been taking care of since November. In the multipurpose building, participants showcase their crafts, crops, and canned and baked goods.
“The fair allows us to showcase this for the community, and to be able to show the community all the hard work that our youth have done throughout the year,” 4-H educator Michelle Harman said. “This gives us an opportunity to show them their livestock because for a lot of those kids, this is their one shot. This is the one time that they really get to show off what they’ve worked on so hard all year.”
The competition makes the hard work pay off, 11-year-old participant Adelyn Toey said.
“I think it’s really cool to get to work with all the animals and get to watch them grow up,” Adelyn said. “I love working with animals. I’ve always been an animal lover. So far, it’s always been super fun for me. And if you’re not really into animals, like you could always do the arts and crafts inside.”
The youth program also offers a robotics club for kids interested in technology.
Other than the fun, Adelyn said finding friends is another benefit to the program.
“I think that if you struggle with communication, like maybe you struggle making friends, it could also do something really good, because everybody here is really nice,” Adelyn said.
While building community and having fun is a positive outcome, Harman said, educating the children is the main goal for the program.
“Our goal is to always be teaching them something,” Harman said.
Ag Expo President Bill McKenzie said the biggest lesson is in responsibility.
“If they don’t go up there and feed that animal two times a day or more, they’re not going to grow. They’re not going to win,” McKenzie said. “That’s a life skill of responsibility. They also learn how to manage money.”
Participants are required to keep a record book of all animal-related purchases, such as feed, medicine and grooming supplies.
“That’s a record-keeping skill that I don’t think often gets taught in school,” McKenzie said.
Along with responsibility, the kids learn public speaking, Harman said.
During competitions, participants are required to speak about their animal to judges, and the program hosts a public speaking night where kids can recite their own poetry, book reports or whatever they choose.
“We just like to have them come up and talk in front of the public because it doesn’t matter what job you go into in the future, chances are good you’re going to have to talk to somebody sometime,” Harman said. “You may not be giving speeches, but you’re gonna have to be able to speak to people.”
Seeing the kids get to work together to set up the event and enjoy the showcases is the most rewarding part as a 4-H educator, Harman said.
“The fair is my absolute favorite week of the year for these kids,” Harman said. “I really love to see how these older kids just start mentoring the younger kids. They want to be able to give back. 4-H is really big on service and giving back to the community and our kids just exemplify that.”
Partnered programs already exist with Bishop Walsh School and Lighthouse Christian Academy, but program coordinators would like to further expand to host clubs within public schools to remove transportation barriers for some kids, Harman said.
Just recently, the program has introduced clubs in George’s Creek Elementary as part of the county’s Community School program that partners with local organizations to fulfill different needs in the school.
Adelyn said that the more people who can join, the better.
“Everybody here is very welcoming, and it’s like our own little community,” Adelyn said.