Ripley County 4-H Board Makes Major Changes To 2020 Fair

While the Ripley County 4-H Fair is still expected to be held, it will look much different from past fairs.

Photo by Rachael Smith.

(Ripley County, Ind.) - With the uncertainty seen over the past months, many community members are curious to see if there favorite summer events will happen. This includes those in Ripley County who enjoy visiting the Ripley County 4-H Fair every year. 

The 4-H Corporation Board met on Monday, May 25 to make some decisions regarding the quickly approaching event.  

"IF the county reaches Stage 5 of reopening by July 4th We are planning to have a 4-H Fair," says Monica Hansen. 

While the Ripley County 4-H Fair is still expected to be held, it will look much different from past fairs.  

All exhibit hall projects will be judged in a closed setting. Projects must be dropped off at an assigned time, by club, from Monday, July 13 to Thursday, July 16. Perishable projects, including cake decorating, crops, foods, food preservation, gardening, flowers, and microwave, will be dropped off the morning of Friday, July 17 to be judged that afternoon.

Animal projects will be shown in a "show and go" setting. Animals will be shown from the trailer with a limited number of pins in the barns for those who need them. There will be no animals allowed on the premises overnight. Show times and schedules will be changed to fit the nature of this show style, and an updated schedule will be sent out in the near future. 

4-H’ers planning to bring animals to the fair must complete an online module to replace the YQCA trainings for this year. If you are taking animals to the State Fair, the online version of the YQCA training will need to be completed, and you will not have to complete the online modules.

All 4-H’ers will have the ability to chose a virtual way of completing their project if they or their family does not feel comfortable in coming to the 4-H fair.

The Ripley County 4-H Fair Auction will be held in an completely online format.

While there will be food vendors, the numbers of vendors will be limited, including a limited menu.

At this year's fair, there will NOT be any of following:

• Open Class Exhibits
• Commercial Exhibits
• Midway Rides
• Grandstand Events
• Miss Ripley County Queen Contest
• Little Miss Ripley County Queen Contest
• Baby Show
• Pedal Tractor Pull

"Thank you all for your patience through this unexpected time," says Hansen. "We will continue to update and send out more details as we get closer to the 4-H Fair."

For any further questions, call (812) 689-6511.