Another fair in the books! More fun had, more memories made, more accomplishments, more prize ribbons!
The weekend started with me sneaking over to the fairgrounds to check the big chunk of our entries. It was a great kickstart to the fun!
I did well. My chocolate muffins won third place. My pineapple cake won second (I still have yet to beat the Italian cream cake that always wins first!). My snickerdoodles won a first place ribbon. And my favorite carrot cupcakes won a blue ribbon and Best of Show!
Evan won five blue ribbons and a Best of Show award for his photography entries. He won a red ribbon for his Lego construction. And his collection of blue eggs won a blue ribbon. He was SO excited!
And Ben got first, second, and third places for his photography. He won first and second places for his Lego constructions. And he won a blue ribbon and Best of Show for his collection of brown eggs!
Here, I’d love to explain the collection of eggs competition. For this, we collected and sat aside eggs for about two weeks. Then the boys studied, weighed, and compared. What the judges are looking for is a display of six eggs that are as similar in color, size, weight, and texture as possible.
Next up was Saturday. We rushed to work, to pull all of our comfy chairs out to the sidewalk, for the best seats in the house during the parade.
After, we rushed back up to the fairgrounds for the egg content contest.
For this, you can only submit one egg. The judge cracks open each entered egg, drops the contents out onto a plate, and studies the parts for quality. The whites need to be clear and firm, not discolored or runny. The yolk needs to be a firm, high mound with a beautiful golden color. The yolk shouldn’t be runny, flat, or pale yellow.
The trick to getting the perfect egg? It should be as fresh as possible. But you should also be feeding your chickens a quality feed. They should be getting nutritious scraps and treats. They should be free-ranging in your yard, eating lots of grass, plants, and bugs. And I’m not above thinking that good loving helps create perfect eggs. 😉
Evan submitted a pretty fresh egg from Rowlf. Ben entered a much fresher egg (laid Saturday morning) from Kermi. And Ben’s egg won first place and Best of Show for the teen age group!!!
Then we hit up the vendors and bands. Of course, grabbing a funnel cake.
Yesterday was the chicken show. Loaded up everything, got our two hens into their cages, cleaned up their feathers, applied our healing salve to their combs and wattles, and waited. For this competition, the judge removes each chicken from their cage. They examine each one against the standard look, coloring, sizing, and features of their breed.
Ms. Piggy didn’t place at this show. But Rowlf won a second place ribbon for Ben.
All in all, totally felt Ben was the big winner at this year’s fair! Plus, he was happy to visit with everyone that stopped by the chicken show, talking about our hens, eggs, our 4-H group. AND, he spent a few hours volunteering for JROTC. So proud of him!!!
But then Evan and I had fun closing the place down, thanks to the carnival all-you-can-ride bracelet.
And today we picked up all of our entries, our ribbons, and our prize money. So thankful for the opportunities and the fun our county fair provides. Such a great way to support our 4-H and FFA youth.
If you want to get involved for next year, there are SO many contests that you can compete in, events you can attend, and ways that you can volunteer! Mark your calendar for Labor Day weekend. Ask me any questions here. Follow the Kendall County Fair’s facebook page.
Website- http://www.kcfa.org/
Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/KendallCountyFairAssociation