When it is over 100 degrees outside and dry as a bone, it is hard to imagine that fall will soon be here. Fall will begin in about six weeks, and with fall comes much more enjoyable weather.

If you are like me, you are beginning to feel that summer is getting pretty monotonous. Every day is the same. It is way too hot to do anything outside, and throughout the county, everyone prays for rain every day, but the rains never come.

This is becoming one of the driest summers in recent years. But there are two things happening I am willing to bet will break the dry spell. First, there is a tropical storm brewing up in the Atlantic. Fall is hurricane season, and hurricanes usually bring plenty of rain. Second, the county fair will be here in just a few short weeks. It always rains when the fair comes to town.

The Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair will start on Thursday, September 27, and will operate until Saturday, October 6. This will be the 61st year that the fair has operated in this county. You should be proud that your fair has been selected as the best county agricultural fair in the state 7 times during the past 25 years.

County fairs have always been and, as long as they are around, will continue to be a place where people can be proud to display their handiwork. So again this year, I will use this opportunity to encourage you to get a little more involved in your county fair.

One of the most interesting aspects of a county fair for most people are the exhibits. Most people like to stroll through the home exhibits admiring the quilts, crafts, canned goods, flowers, and hundreds of other items that their friends and neighbors have entered. It is not uncommon to hear comments from them like "I can make one prettier that that one" or "mine looks better than that one."

If you are one of those who has ever muttered a statement like this, now is your opportunity to show off your prized items. I encourage you to start now getting your items ready to enter in the county fair. The new fair handbooks are available, and they include all the rules about entering, a list of all categories, and prize money. You can pick up one of the handbooks from the Cooperative Extension Service or at many of the local businesses that are involved as sponsors or exhibitors at the county fair.

You will enjoy the fair much more if you enter some of your items in the fair. More importantly, you can have a positive influence and make the county fair not only enjoyable but also a learning experience for your children, grandchildren, or the children in your neighborhood. All you have to do is take a few minutes to help them get items ready to enter in the county fair and then take them to the fairgrounds prior to the fair and enter them for judging.

Your first reaction may be that you do not have anything to enter. But most likely this is far from true. There are literally hundreds of different classes for just about anything you can imagine. And besides, the policy of the fair is that if there is not a class already established for an item, a class will be created.

In order to be classified as a county fair, regulations require that a certain portion of income from the fair must be returned in the form of prizes and premiums. The Robeson County Fair has always exceeded all standards, and again this year will offer more than $18,000 in prizes and premiums.

Most adults have hobbies, special interests, or collectibles that are suitable for entering in the county fair. Houseplants, potted plants, cut flowers, vegetables from the garden, sewing, needlework, quilts, clothing, cakes, cookies, pies, canned fruits or vegetables, paintings, woodwork, and antique farm items are just a few of the things that can be entered in the fair. Those adults associated with farming may enter all kinds of farm products like corn, soybeans, cotton, grains, tobacco, livestock, and just about any kind of vegetable you can imagine.

Many youth are beginning to develop hobbies of their own or have special interests and are eager for an opportunity to show off their prized possessions. Youth with farm animals can enter the livestock events, enter flowers and vegetables from the family garden, or enter their favorite doll or model car. Even the very young children have treasured items they have made in Sunday School, Bible School, or at school that can be entered in a variety of youth classes.

Adults reading this column who are involved with youth groups, such as 4-H Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups, and civic groups, are urged to take advantage of this opportunity provided by the county fair. With a little advance planning and coordination, all youth in the group can enter an assortment of items in the county fair, and all prize money earned can help support the activities of that group. In addition to being a learning opportunity for the group, this can turn out to be a fund-raiser as well.

If you would like to have more information about entering items in the Robeson County Fair, please give me a call at 671-3276. If you are involved with a youth group and would like to develop an educational and fund-raising opportunity for your youth, please contact me. I will be glad to share the information you will need or meet with your group to help them better understand how to successfully prepare and display the items they may want to enter in the county fair.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 08/27/07