Nelson Family Blog: Turner County Fair 2021

We survived our first fair as 4-H parents. It was one heck of a week, but we had a healthy dose of family time, and the kids loved it, so it was well worth it.

Last Sunday, before the Fair, we headed to Ron's house for a bean bag tournament and potluck. Jill and Peggy were in town, and John's other aunts and cousins were there as well. Erika and Bert were also back in town again, so we had plenty of people to visit with. The food was good, and then we had our tournament. I was partnered with Samantha, and we lost our first two games and were out.

We did have to leave early and check in the rabbits and chickens into the fair. We ran to Jim and Barb's house to pick up all the animals, and then we checked in the rabbits and then the chickens. The process was actually pretty smooth. After they were settled in, we checked Elliott's projects into open class, and then we enjoyed the free BBQ supper meal at Heritage Park. After the food, we checked in Elliott's and Emma's 4-H projects. After the craziness, we headed back to the camper to relax and call it an evening. We visited with some more family, and then called it a night.

Monday was a crazy day. Emma, Elliott, and I had to work in the 4-H building in the morning helping serve refreshments to the 4-H judges. John was also busy judging open class photography. We ate a nice lunch at the camper, and then got the kids in their show clothes and got ready for the chicken and bunny shows. The chicken show was first, Emma showed two chickens. The show ended up lasting 5 hours, so it was very long, and not overly exciting. Emma's first chicken was in the first 1/3 of the show, and then the second chicken was in the last 1/3 of the show, so it got very long. Overall, Emma did really well. She got a purple ribbon with Stilts and a blue ribbon with King Peach.

The rabbit show started while the chicken show was still going on, so it was a little stressful. Elliott showed first since he is a Cloverbud, and he did really well with his bunny. The judge liked his rabbit and he got a green cloverbud ribbon. Emma showed later in the show, and ended up with a purple ribbon and almost got best of show! She also did showmanship, and she got Reserve Champion for that. So, it was an awesome end to the day.

Katie came out to the fair in the evening. We all ate supper together, and then Katie and the kids went on a couple rides together. Eventually, we called it a night. John headed back to Sioux Falls to work the next day and I took the kids for some well-deserved showers at Jim and Barb's house and then we all finally went to bed.

Tuesday was another busy day, but not nearly as bad as Monday. It was an early start. Emma said the pledge of allegiance at 7:45 am and then we ate some breakfast and did some bunny and chicken chores. After lunch, Emma and I went to the Fair office to sell ride tickets while Elliott hung out with Grandpa Jim. In the afternoon, we visited the commercial exhibits and enjoyed just walking around and relaxing. We also found some family and visited with them. In the late afternoon, the kids and I headed into town for Bethel Open House. The kids got to put all their school supplies in their desk, and then we went through their daily schedules with their teachers. The kids won't admit it, but I think they are ready to be back at school. John took the kids back to the fairgrounds to sleep in the camper, and I enjoyed a night at home in a real bed. It was glorious.

Wednesday morning, I got a nice big coffee and then headed back to the fairgrounds. The morning started with chores and Zebra donuts, and then John had to do announcements for a couple of hours in the fair office. From 11-3pm, we worked in the 4-h stand. The kids absolutely loved working in the 4-H stand. Emma took orders at the window, and did a great job serving the customers. John and I helped with the hot foods, and overall it was pretty fun. It was hot, and got long toward the end, but it was fun. After working, the Tomczak family came to visit the fair. The kids were overly excited to show the Tomczak kids the fairgrounds. We walked the entire fair, saw all the animals, and then relaxed at the camper for a while before they headed home.

Jeff and Samantha headed to the fair that evening, and we had a lot of good family time. Elliott had the most showing his rabbit off to people. He would go out into the crowd and ask people if they wanted to see his bunny. He told me one day that he showed his bunny to 53 families. Elliott is such a character. He also loved showing off his projects to anyone who would go and see them. He was one proud 4-Her. Emma also enjoyed showing off her projects, especially her grand champion eggplant. She also was a very proud 4-Her. In the evening, we all played some blackout Bingo with the relatives, and then John went home to work the next day, while the rest of us went to bed.

Thursday was the last day of the fair, and an early morning. We volunteered to pick up garbage Thursday morning for free wristbands for that evening. We picked up garbage for a good 90 minutes, and then got our wristbands. The kids actually seemed to enjoy themselves. We went back to the camper to eat, and then we did animal chores again. I sold tickets again from 1-3pm while the kids went with Jill and Peg to Ron's house to play with Abby and hangout. At 4pm, we hit up the rides with our wristbands. I went on a bunch of rides with the kids including the zipper. I don't know what I was thinking with that one, I'm too old for that stuff. Emma and I went on that ride, and she didn't really enjoy it either. There was a lot of closing eyes and swearing (from me), but we survived. The kids also did the tractor pull, and they both got 3rd place which was pretty cool.

We rode rides until around 8:00pm, when we finally stopped and ate some supper. At 9:00pm, we had the crazy job of checking out the chickens and rabbits, and then finally the projects. It was 10:00pm before we were back at the camper with everything. John headed home and Jim brought the animals home while the rest of us finally went to bed. That was the end of a crazy, busy, fun fair.

On Friday morning, we packed up the camper and finally headed for home. At home, we did laundry, cleaned, and got unpacked and then repacked again. John worked during the day, and then in the afternoon we headed to Minnesota, but more on that trip in the next post.

I was very happy with our first official 4-H fair. We learned a lot, and I'm already looking forward to next year. That's a wrap on the 2021 Turner County Fair!