State Fair 2010 Part 4

Here's my last bit of miscellaneous photos from this year's fair.


Pow-wow

Robin was taking one of the rabbits up to the judging table when she was snagged by a news crew ....

She's looking at me:  "What do I do?!!!"   I said:  "Just go"   --  so she left them with just the other kid to interview.  :)

Dave's talking to a "mountain man" here.  An interesting guy... selling handmade rope, rope making kits and books, maps, and other stuff.

And that's all.

State Fair 2010 part 3

Arts

I think Robin did a really nice job with this crocheted doll.  And the judges thought so too!

This is a wire sculpture cat that Charissa made.  It's a cat hunting a mouse.  A lot of entries were displayed in glass cases, which made it difficult for me to get a good picture.  (The bright spot is just the reflection of the flash.)

This is a beaded skunk, by Robin.

Here's a pencil sketch of Dave, by Charissa.

And a watercolor of somewhere in the Southwestern US, also by Charissa.

A crocheted washcloth by Robin.

And a crocheted scarf, also by Robin.

State Fair 2010 part 2

Showmanship

In showmanship, the kids are judged on how well they handle their rabbit (or other animal), their knowledge of the animal, and their own appearance and carriage.

Robin's in this group.  They've just come to the table, and are listening to the judge's instructions.  Many times showmanship is done individually, but this time they had the kids in groups.

Robin's checking teeth in this picture. They do a thorough exam of the animal, checking for health, abnormalities, sex, coat condition, straightness of limbs, etc.  The judge may ask them questions about their breed of rabbit to test their knowledge.

He's asking Robin some questions in this next shot.  She needs to work on not fiddling with her hands while she's talking.

 

Robin did well ... except she wore open-toed shoes, which is a no-no.

Next is Katie in action ...

And here she is all done, and waiting for the judge to finish talking to everyone.

The bunny's getting bored and asking Katie how long he's going to have to sit there.

State Fair 2010 part 1

Quiz Bowl

This is a fun event where teams of 4 kids compete against each other answering agriculture related questions such as:  What is the body temperature of a chicken? ...  How long is the gestation of a rabbit? ....  How many teeth does a dog have?  ...  What is the name for the blood vessels that carry blood toward the heart?

Robin is on the team in the picture above.  Katie is in the next one.

Our 4H rabbit club provided most of the contestants for this competition -- three of the four teams -- and took First, Third, and Fourth place.

Here they all are, showing off their ribbons:

The funnest part (for me) is watching the kids hit their buzzer too soon, and then try to quess what the rest of the question was going to be.  They're pretty good at it too!

State Fair week is here

It's been especially busy this week because it's the week of the Nevada State Fair--now officially renamed the "Wild West Fair"--or something like that. They actually have a pretty good set of shows going. We watched part of the Pow-Wow (Native American dancing) and caught most of the main Wild West show. They have a "Spanish Dancing Horses" show--Andalusians probably--which I hope I can get to see tomorrow.

Josh has enjoyed watching the Wild West show, parts of horse shows, looking at all the pigs, and watching a dairy goat show. He "knows" about goats, since we have them, and speculated about how much milk the different goats had--based on udder size. He also found the different ear sizes and shapes interesting, since our goats are mini LaManchas with almost no ears.

The twins have prefered to spend most of their time in the rabbit and poultry area, collecting feathers, drawing pictures of birds, and climbing up and down the bleachers.

Katie and Robin have mostly been doing various rabbit showing events and helping man the club's booth.

The kids art projects have done well: Charissa has a Grand Champion ribbon on a wire sculpture she made, and Robin on a crocheted doll. I can't remember the details of the other projects--it's too late at night--but I'll update on that soon.

Hopefully I'll have some pictures and more details up by Sunday, but now I need to get to bed so I can get the kids back to the fair by 8:30 or so tomorrow morning!