August 11-12-13, 2010
North Branch Park, Milltown Road, Bridgewater, N.J.
Time flies when you have kids, and I can’t believe London and Maddie are finishing up their third year of 4-H Prep with the grand finale — the Somerset County 4-H Fair in Bridgewater, New Jersey. London is graduating from Prep this year in a little ceremony tomorrow night — Thursday, August 12th. This year, we’ll spend some of our time at the 4-H Fair helping London to learn about all of the choices she has for a “regular” (4th through 12th grade) 4-H club in the Fall. Since we got our cockapoo puppy, Peanut Butter, the girls have been interested in a dog obedience club, but that may have to wait until next year when we get a second cockapoo (Honey) and Maddie is also old enough to join.
I have been going to the Somerset County 4-H Fair for almost 40 years, since before I was even old enough to be a 4-H Prep Club member. Despite the fact that we live in Morris County, as soon as London was old enough to join last September, I started taking her over to the Prep Club meetings at the Ted Blum 4-H Center in Bridgewater, NJ (Somerset County, about five minutes from the house I grew up in). After London’s second year and Maddie’s first official year in the Crazy Clovers Prep Club (Maddie participated as a “tag-along” when she was too young to join), our family continues to believe that Somerset County 4-H is the best 4-H experience in the surrounding area.
The Somerset County 4-H Fair, rather than going commercial with rides and games, focuses on the kids and their achievements. Our whole family loves to see the dogs, cows, sheep, rabbits, goats, horses and alpaca. This past year, London and Maddie met the kids (and their pets) from the reptile club during one of their Crazy Clovers prep meetings, and the girls are hoping to get an anole and a leopard gecko in the Fall, so I bet we’ll be spending some time with the lizards at the 4-H Fair this summer. In the chicken tent, there’s always an incubator full of eggs with chicks being hatched before your eyes. Even though we haven’t yet found the right family pet (and 4-H focus when London graduates out of the Crazy Clovers Prep Club next year), Rex remains enthusiastic about the prospect of owning chickens, so we’ll be spending some quality time in the chicken tent with the Wattles and Snood club to learn more about the process of raising chickens.
This year’s Somerset County 4-H Fair promises to be bigger and better than ever, attracting tens of thousands of visitors with its wholesome mix of arts, entertainment, agriculture, animals, science, food, fellowship and just plain fun.
The 2010 Somerset County, NJ 4-H Fair runs Wednesday, August 11th through Friday, August 13th. 10am-10pm all days. The weather promises to be perfect, and we’ll hope to see you out there. Tomorrow evening (Thursday, August 12th), you can look for London, Maddie, Rex and me in the 4-H Prep Club Cotton Candy Tent!