WEBSTER COUNTY 4-H & FFA FAIR STARTS SATURDAY, JULY 19

     The 108th Webster County Fair at Bladen, Nebraska begins on Saturday, July 19 with the annual clean-up s at 8:00 am. The livestock portion of the fair starts officially at the Rodeo Grounds at the Webster County Fairgrounds in Bladen with the 4-H & FFA Horse Show which gets underway with a 10:30 am start time. The first ever open Beef BBQ competition starts that evening with check-in of teams, procurement of the beef for the contest and the official start of the preparation and cooking procedures from 5:00-7:00 pm.

     A new event this year is the All Faith Church Services  held in the open air arena on the rodeo side of the fairgrounds startimg at 10:30 am followed by a potluck or carry in dinner. To further the experience there will be Gospel Concert  starting at 12:30 pm. Please contact Pastor Dan Albers (Blue Hill and Bladen United Methodist Church) for further information.
Starting at 3:00 pm the 4-H youth can bring their favorite recipes for home-made ice cream and  participate in an ice cream roll using duct tape, coffee cans and ice to make ice cream to be judged.
     You will be able to discern the pleasing aroma of the Webster County Beef BBQ contest all day on Sunday, and will have the opportunity to participate during the judging of the BBQ presentations. Teams of “chefs” will be competing for the grand prize of a new grill and the bragging rights of being the best BBQers in South Central Nebraska. The nice part is that you can then purchase tickets for a meal which includes meat from your favorite BBQ team’s efforts. The rest of the week will bring a little different schedule of events than what has been followed in previous years. The following information will help both exhibitors and attendees prepare for the fair.  
     The youth portion of the fair continues through the week with the 4-H music contest and fashion show starting at 7:00 pm at the Blue Hill high school gymnasium in Blue Hill on Monday evening July 21.
A fan favorite, the 4-H/FFA cat, dog and exotic animal show begins at 4:00 pm in the evening starting with the dog show followed at 7:00 pm with the cat, small and exotic animal show.
Wednesday, July 23 brings the judging of the home environment, miscellaneous agriculture exhibits, foods, horticulture, photography, and other static exhibits starting that morning, with the 4-H and FFA Poultry and Rabbit show starting at 8:30 am. The First Year Bucket Calf competition will be held during the day and includes record book review, an interview and a complete bucket calf evaluation and showmanship event. Sheep, goats and hogs will be weighed in and checked in Wednesday morning, with breeding beef checked in at 6:00 pm and market beef weighed in at 7:00 pm that same evening. Please check your Webster County fair premium book for exact times for each species. Another new event for the fair this year is the 4-H & FFA Teen Youth “Beach Party” that will be held in the show arena from 8:30-11:00 p.m. to close out the evening.
     Thursday, July 24 starts at 8:30 am with the 4-H and FFA Swine Show. The swine show includes a breeding gilt class which is separate from the market swine show.  This will be followed  with the 4-H/FFA Sheep Show  at 10:00 am. The 4-H/FFA Meat Goat Show will follow Sheep Show. Once again there will be a “Best Dressed Goat” contest that will be held at the conclusion of the live show.  This usually proves to be an entertaining and fun event for exhibitors and spectators alike.
The 4-H/FFA Beef Show is split once again this year with the Beef Showmanship event beginning Thursday afternoon at 1:00 pm.
     Webster County is famous for the number and especially the quality of its beef exhibits.  This year is no exception. The top two senior and top two intermediate beef showmen will be determined at the Thursday afternoon show, but will come back on Friday morning to compete for Grand Champion Beef Showman under a different judge. The 4-H/FFA Market and Breeding Beef show will go all day Friday, July 25, starting at 8:30 a.m. with the finals of the Webster County Beef Showmanship.  The Market Beef Show will start at approximately 9:00 am and will include both the Rate of Gain and Carcass Contest results and the crowning of the Grand Champion Webster County Market Beef.
      The 4-H/FFA Breeding Beef show will begin at 1:30 pm, or ½ hour after the completion of the market beef show, depending on the heat index, on Friday afternoon.  The breeding beef show will conclude with the crowning of the Grand Champion Webster County Breeding Heifer and then the Supreme Champion Breeding Beef.  
 July 26 which will start out with the Annual FFA Breakfast which will be held in the open-air auditorium starting at 6:00 am. The annual 4-H & FFA Livestock Premium Auction and special Webster County Youth Foundation activities will be held that morning starting at 9:00 am. Premium on the Grand Champion of each species will each be sold at the beginning of the auction with the opportunity for the buyer to have their picture taken with the animal and exhibitor that they are supporting, and that picture will be given to each of them and forwarded to local newspapers.  The premium auction would then follow the procedures as it has in previous years.
     Saturday afternoon also features a very popular event each year with the Rainbow Classic where pre-4-H youth have a chance to show their pets and sibling’s exhibits in front of a dignitary judge. This fun event will start at 11:00 a.m.  The last 4-H & FFA competition of the fair is the State Fair qualifying Round Robin Showmanship event that starts at starting at 12:30 pm. The top showman in each of the large animal species will go head to head to determine who the Premier Showman at the Webster County Fair is. The winner has the opportunity to represent Webster County in the State Premier Livestock Showmanship competition.
     The last event of the Webster County 4-H and FFA Fair is a fun afternoon of activities for all ages being organized by Red Cloud and Blue Hill FFA Chapters and the Webster County Junior Leaders. The Webster County Junior Leaders will also sponsor a “Boot Scramble” each night before the rodeo with two age groups – 4 to 6 and 7 to 9. They are also planning an “Adult Boot Scramble” on Friday or Saturday evening’s rodeo.
     All exhibits should remain in place throughout the day on Saturday and through Saturday evening so that fair-goers will have a chance to see the exhibits that the youth have worked so diligently on during the year, bring to the fair for competition, and to show the public what they have accomplished. This includes static exhibits at the 4-H Exhibit Hall and the animals from the livestock barns. All non-auction exhibits will be released at 11:00 pm on Saturday night or Sunday morning before noon.
     All leaders, 4-H and FFA youth, parents are expected to return to the fairgrounds on Sunday morning (July 27) to load out the market animals for the buyers and to participate in the post-fair clean-up day. We ask that everyone grab shovels, brooms and pitchforks and and help put the fairgrounds back into pristine shape and ready for the 109^th  edition of the Webster County Fair 2015.       
     The 4-H and FFA events are just a part of the Webster County Fair.  There are of course Open Class Exhibits, vendors and booths, and Midwest Amusements is this year’s Carnival. The Carnival will run from Wednesday night through Saturday night with armband night on Wednesday.  
 As always the Rodeo will be held in Webster County Fair Rodeo Arena located on the west half of the fairgrounds. It  kicks off on Thursday, July 24 with a Beef Barbeque at 5:00 pm followed by a watermelon feed, and the Rodeo Princess Contest. The Friday Rodeo is “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” night with a portion of the gate going to fight cancer. It kicks off with a Pork Barbeque at 5:00 pm and ends with a dance with music provided by “DJ Bridwell Music.”  Saturday is the big day with another new event – “Webster County Fair Mud Drags” starting off at 12:00 noon. Steak lovers will have to get the South Central Cattlemen steak sandwich which will be offered from 4:00 pm until gone.  Registration for the KRVN “Endless Summer” 2014 Chevy Silverado pickup will take place between 6 & 8 pm. The rodeo will have its last go-round that night followed by the second night of dancing. There is a wild cow race each night of the rodeo and a chance to win a special Montana Silver belt buckle.
     For a more complete list of activities or any questions concerning the youth portion of the fair, please contact the Webster County extension office in Red Cloud at 402-746-3417 or check out the web site at:  www.webster.unl.edu or www.webstercountyfair.org/.  You can also find us on Facebook at “Webster County Fair & Rodeo.”