Red, White and Moo! Our La Plata County Fair is in full swing. The La Plata County Fairgrounds is brimming with animals, projects and family fun. Swing down and join the excitement.
The Extension Building holds our 4-H general, natural resources and home economics exhibits. These are projects our 4-H members have built, made and created from their own imaginations. Our members are so talented and creative, you will be in awe and inspired after walking through this building.
The Exhibit Hall is full of entries from our non-4-H community. We have two floors of entries showing off the talents of our neighbors and community members. The Bunny Barn is where you will find our fluffy bunnies. Unfortunately, because of highly pathogenic avian influenza, we will not have poultry at the fair this year. We will all miss the baby duck slide.
The Pavilion is home to our beef, sheep, swine and goats. This is always a highlight of the fair because you can get up close to all of the animals, meet their 4-H owners and learn all about them. Education is a big part of the 4-H program, so if you have the opportunity, please talk with our 4-H members about their projects.
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our annual fundraiser, the 4-H Community BBQ, from 12 to 4 p.m. (or until the food runs out) Saturday at the senior center lawn. The menu includes: local beef and pork, Olathe corn on the cob, garden salad, country bread from the famous Bread bakery, cookies, ice cream and a beverage generously donated from Durango Coca-Cola. Tickets are $10 for adults at the door or $8 in advance and $5 for 65 and older and 10 and younger. The barbecue is a fun-filled community event that supports our local 4-H program and you will not leave hungry.
Special thank you to all of our barbecue cooks: Enduring Resources, Simco IKAV and Aztec Well Services; and our sponsors: Bread, Serious Texas Bar-B-Q, Durango Coca-Cola, City Market, Farmers Fresh Market, Basin Coop, La Plata County Cowbelles, the Gillen family and Durango/La Plata Senior Center.
Our Junior Livestock Sale takes places at 6 p.m. Saturday. This is a wonderful way to support our local youths. For many 4-H/FFA members, the money they receive from selling their animals is used to pay for their college education. This is your chance to invest in them and the future of La Plata County by purchasing an animal. We anticipate having 34 beef, 15 sheep, 18 goats and 40 swine for sale, as well as four rabbits and eight poultry. We will have a live auction for those of you who want to attend in person, and we will continue to provide a virtual option so you can participate in the livestock auction from the comfort of your own home via phone bidding.
We will wrap up the evening on Saturday with our 4-H Family Dance with the band Midnight Backhand. The dance is held on the patio between the Exhibit Hall and Extension Building. The dance runs from 9 p.m. to midnight and costs $5 per person at the door.
For more information about the La Plata County Fair, visit laplatacountyfair.com, check out the Facebook page @Laplatacountyfair and the 4-H Facebook page @laplatacountyh4, or call the La Plata County Extension Office at 382-6465.
Angela Fountain is the La Plata County 4-H youth development agent. Reach her at angela.fountain@co.laplata.co.us or 382-6460.
