It seems that over time the exhibits at county and UP State Fairs has diminished. Probably one of the big reasons was the elimination of state funding to fairs about 15 years ago during tough budget times. Fairs used to pay state aided premiums to exhibitors. There probably are other reasons but the bottom line is that we still have empty tables and shelves in the
exhibit buildings. Those exhibits are such an important piece of the fair experience. Fairgoers love to walk through the grounds and buildings to see everything that is there.

Unfortunately, there is less to see in the exhibits than there used to be.

What can we do to change that? And let me be clear, this is not criticism of the many volunteers that make our fairs what they are. These are suggestions and encouragement. Many of these suggestions have come from others that I have asked what we can do to increase participation.

Contact schools – Many crafts and art projects are completed at school. Some of the best could be entered at the fair. FFA teachers could encourage their students to enter posters they may have prepared for leadership competition. Some programs have greenhouses. Use those opportunities to enter vegetables. Collect sheaves of grain and forage – give students grades as they identify various forages and give extra class credit for those entering in the fair.

Encourage 4-H clubs to enter at the fair. We used to have 4-H clubs with fair entries being an end goal to show off the learned talents. Many of our 4-H clubs now are Special Interest (SPIN) clubs that work on a project for a short term. Let’s try to coordinate to get these clubs entering at the fair.

Advertise – It seems like everyone should know when the fair is but I have heard people say they do not know the dates of the county fair. Get information out earlier on radio announcements, community calendars, make social media pages and make special note encouraging participants to enter exhibits. Let them know when exhibits need to be entered and when the judging is going to be.

More classes inside youth interest – It seems more kids are being creative with Legos projects and robotics as examples. Of course building blocks will fit into the still exhibit category but maybe we need to add demonstration exhibits.

Bragging Rights – In the spirit of competition and sportsmanship, make some entries and win some blue ribbons and let people know. Encourage them to enter. When my kids were younger, and the State of Michigan helped pay for premiums, I would take the kids to prepare agricultural entries. I would take a part of a bale from second cutting trefoil. We would go into hay fields and get fresh sheaves of trefoil, alfalfa, red clover, anything we could find that would quality. They would get a nice little check and I would tell everybody that I make the best hay in the county. I proved it by getting first place at the county fair. Within a couple years the number of hay entries went from one or two to a dozen. It was fun.

Help make the fairs great, enter an exhibit!