The Walker family is putting the final touches on their projects, and getting last-minute trainings and cleanings of their animals done.
With Wyoming’s Big Show set to take place Sunday, July 30, through Saturday, August 5, the Walkers and other 4-H families are working hard to get everything ready to show. For some static projects, which basically include all projects that do not have live animals, judging has already taken place.
This leaves the 4-H members hustling to get their animals ready and the Walker family is no different. Colten, 12, Thatcher, 9, and Paisley, 5, of Farson are getting excited for another year at the fair. All three of them belong to the Wyoming West 4-H Club, Thatcher and Colten are in the regular club, while Paisley was proud to say she was a Cloverbud. A Cloverbud is a 4-H member who is in kindergarten through second grade.
Colten has been in 4-H for four years, Thatcher for 2 years, while Paisley is taking in the new process and showing exhibits and animals for the first time.
Colten will proudly be bringing one cat, one pig, one chicken, and three ducks to the fair this year for the live animal competition. He is also bringing root beer jelly as his static exhibit.
Thatcher is bringing two cats, two pigs, and two chickens for the live competition. He was proud to say he was also bringing pineapple upside down jelly and S’more fudge.
As for Paisley, she was showcasing her homemade raspberry marshmallows, which she continued eyeballing during the interview because she was told she could eat one after it was done. Who could blame her? They looked delicious! Paisley was also going to show one pig and one chicken in the peewee division.
Regardless of what a 4-H member decides to take to the fair, there are always challenges. For the Walker family, it was the marshmallow recipe Paisley wanted to make that had the potential to be an obstacle.
“We were really nervous on the marshmallows because we had never made them before,” mom Crystal Walker said.
However, they discovered the process really wasn’t that difficult and the marshmallows turned out amazing. They also discovered it a much easier process than they thought it was going to be. That’s what it’s all about, trying something and experiencing something new.
Each family member enjoys different aspects of the 4-H competition. For Colten, he prefers showing poultry at the fair “because you can really get to know how amazing birds are once you show them.” Birds come in all different colors, varieties, and breeds of birds. Thatcher enjoys showing cats at the fair because not only does he get to decorate the cat carrier, but the cats wear costumes. This year, his cat Sasha, will be in a cowboy costume, while Chloe will be showing off a Cinco De Mayo costume.
Both Colten and Thatcher have made it to the state fair in the past and are hoping to do that again. Colten went to state in poultry and Thatcher made it to state with one of his cats. Thatcher sure enjoys his cats and said he started training them since they were little.
“They were the cutest little fluff balls when they were kittens,” Thatcher said.
While a lot of the work is done throughout the year or within the last few months, there are still certain fair preparations that need to take place. For Colten, that means treating his poultry with lice and mite powder at least two weeks before the fair and giving them a bath two days before the fair. Even though his birds don’t have any or show signs of lice or mites, they want to make sure the birds don’t have them.
Crystal said people who are looking at signing up their children for 4-H should know it is not all about showing animals. There are so many static projects 4-H members can take to the fair, including woodwork, metal, robotics, Legos, food, vegetables, cakes and much more.
Be sure and check out all of the 4-H members’ animals and projects at this year’s fair.
