Wandering Through Last Weekend’s 4-H Festival

By CATHERINE ELLERTON

The Progress

A teaspoon of sugar; a quarter cup of milk; another quarter cup of half and half; and a cap full of vanilla; put it all in a plastic bag. Then insert that bag into another bag filled with crushed ice and rock salt. Shake and squish it until it hardens. And VOILA! you have ice cream.

4-H members Demsie Walker and Eliza Frei led the curious through one of the many demonstrations being conducted in the Fine Arts Building during the Junior Livestock Show and 4-H Fair held at the Logandale Fairgrounds on April 8-10.

The ice cream was very popular. One could see plastic baggies being kneaded carefully throughout the grounds.

Another demonstration that drew an audience was a Horsemanship workshop. Addysen Sherwood and Sarah Moss discussed the fine art of taking care of horses and proper mounting techniques. They instructed on taking the horse outside and brushing it off, checking their feet, properly saddling the horse, checking the bits and then the proper mounting technique.

These were just two of the demonstrations and contests being conducted by 4-H members in the Fine Arts Building.

There was also a popular cupcake decorating contest. Many 4-H projects were on display including drawing, quilting, clay sculpting, cooking and gardening.

The flower garden was colorful and the recycled garden was intriguing. Here the creative gardener used shoes and violins, bicycles, old basketballs and dishes as their unique garden plot. A Master Gardener was available to answer questions.

There was a section dedicated to Animal Science. It was here you could find out that pigs do not sweat, so they roll in the dirt and lay in mud to keep cool. Another lesson: “Goat milk is whiter in color than whole cow milk.”

Soon the fairgoer roamed outside to view the pens the 4-H members had set up and maintained. There was one for lambs, and calves, chickens and miniature ponies.

Wandering a bit further, one could view the marvelous cars of the Model T Club as they continued to wander to the stage area.

At the Plaza Stage there were a variety of entertainment acts throughout the day. From the Mesquite Seniors (dancers) to the Moapa Valley Tumblers to musical acts such as The Click country/classic rock group to the very popular Pie Eating Contests.

And speaking of eating, the fairgoer could wander a bit further to find a cornucopia of various food trucks with fair food for all tastes.

There were also plenty of local vendors offering their expertise and their wares. These included the Dirt Road dreamer mobile mercantile; an Exchange Students Information booth; Plus 10 Clothing Co. and more.

The Lost City Museum folks were giving classes in identifying animal tracks. One of the guides, Caroline Kunioka explained how interesting it was to find owl pellets. They can’t digest bones or fur and so once their prey has been consumed they cough up a fuzzy ball.

The Parks and Rec staff, along with a small army of volunteers, offered a number of games and activities related to sports.

The Clark County Fire Department had a special trailer where kids could practice the important habit of stop, drop and roll in case they are ever in a fire.

The CCSD Police offered a fun motorcycle simulator where kids could learn about safety when driving on the roads.

One of the most popular offerings was the drift car experience presented by Gatsby Racing where the daring could suit up in a vehicle with a professional stunt driver and fish-tail around the Fairgrounds parking lot for a bit.

All of this was offered free to young and old at last weekend’s festival. And it all took place before the Rodeo even began.