4-H Fair and Peach Festival begins July 23
Members of the Gloucester County 4-H Clubs get to show off their stuff later this month.
The Gloucester County 4-H Fair and Peach Festival will be held July 23 through 26 at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Mullica Hill. According to 4-H agent Linda Strieter, this event, always held on the last full weekend in July, is the culminating event for its members.
“The 4-H fair is the showcase of all of the children’s projects,” Strieter said. “It’s the time to exhibit what they’ve achieved throughout the year. For many of them, it means they’ve raised an animal, or maybe they’ve learned to ride a horse, either English or western style, or they may be raising a hog to put to market.”
Held at the same 100-acre, 4-H-owned location since the 1960s, the fair draws between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors annually. And for about 10 years, the fair has been held in conjunction with the New Jersey Peach Festival.
For the 4-H Fair, the theme is “Science, Engineering and Technology — SET your Mind to 4-H.” Some 4-H members will be teaching visitors how to construct a rubber band car, or a glider; others will be discussing the animals they are raising.
“We are in line with the national 4-H initiative — to help young people in the country realize that science is fun, and they should consider careers in that field,” Strieter said. “We’re asking all 4-H members to focus on that.”
Enrollment in 4-H clubs is strong, Strieter said. Gloucester County has about 650 members in 57 clubs. Most of the children are in the horse program, though that differs from county to county. There is also a strong 4-H presence in Gloucester schools and libraries.
The 4-H Youth Development program is the educational component of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Kicking off the event July 23 is the parade of clubs, where all of the 4-H club students and leaders are introduced. July 24 is the popular hog, lamb and goat auction.
“[4-H children] raise the animal, keep very explicit records — what they feed it, how they care for it — and then the information about the animal is shared and buyers bid quite a bit of money, and it goes to the children,” Strieter said. “Some of the kids pay for parts of college with what they sell.”
The weekend will also feature typical fair fare, like rides, a barbecue dinner, peach ice cream, a pig race and a pig costume competition.
Proceeds of the fair go to 4-H programs and facilities; and the proceeds of the peach festival go to the promotion and marketing of New Jersey peaches.
There is a parking donation of $10.
Though Strieter said Gloucester is becoming less and less rural, the county still has two dairy clubs, a beef club, three goat clubs, a sheep club, five rabbit and small animal clubs, and 30 horse clubs.
For more information, visit http://gloucester.rce.rutgers.edu/fairfest. The 4-H Fairgrounds is located at Route 77 South, Mullica Hill.
The Gloucester County 4-H Fair and Peach Festival will be held July 23 through 26 at the 4-H Fairgrounds in Mullica Hill. According to 4-H agent Linda Strieter, this event, always held on the last full weekend in July, is the culminating event for its members.
“The 4-H fair is the showcase of all of the children’s projects,” Strieter said. “It’s the time to exhibit what they’ve achieved throughout the year. For many of them, it means they’ve raised an animal, or maybe they’ve learned to ride a horse, either English or western style, or they may be raising a hog to put to market.”
Held at the same 100-acre, 4-H-owned location since the 1960s, the fair draws between 20,000 and 30,000 visitors annually. And for about 10 years, the fair has been held in conjunction with the New Jersey Peach Festival.
For the 4-H Fair, the theme is “Science, Engineering and Technology — SET your Mind to 4-H.” Some 4-H members will be teaching visitors how to construct a rubber band car, or a glider; others will be discussing the animals they are raising.
“We are in line with the national 4-H initiative — to help young people in the country realize that science is fun, and they should consider careers in that field,” Strieter said. “We’re asking all 4-H members to focus on that.”
Enrollment in 4-H clubs is strong, Strieter said. Gloucester County has about 650 members in 57 clubs. Most of the children are in the horse program, though that differs from county to county. There is also a strong 4-H presence in Gloucester schools and libraries.
The 4-H Youth Development program is the educational component of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension.
Kicking off the event July 23 is the parade of clubs, where all of the 4-H club students and leaders are introduced. July 24 is the popular hog, lamb and goat auction.
“[4-H children] raise the animal, keep very explicit records — what they feed it, how they care for it — and then the information about the animal is shared and buyers bid quite a bit of money, and it goes to the children,” Strieter said. “Some of the kids pay for parts of college with what they sell.”
The weekend will also feature typical fair fare, like rides, a barbecue dinner, peach ice cream, a pig race and a pig costume competition.
Proceeds of the fair go to 4-H programs and facilities; and the proceeds of the peach festival go to the promotion and marketing of New Jersey peaches.
There is a parking donation of $10.
Though Strieter said Gloucester is becoming less and less rural, the county still has two dairy clubs, a beef club, three goat clubs, a sheep club, five rabbit and small animal clubs, and 30 horse clubs.
For more information, visit http://gloucester.rce.rutgers.edu/fairfest. The 4-H Fairgrounds is located at Route 77 South, Mullica Hill.
