July Calendar

4 Independence Day - Office Closed
10 Pre-Entry for all 4-H Fair Exhibits
10 Style Revue Narratives Due
17 Style Revue/Clothing Construction Judging
17 Public Style Revue
18 Final Sign Up Day for Interview Judging of Foods, Home Environment, Child Development, and Aerospace exhibits.
18 Fair Clean-Up Day
19-24 Phelps County Fair
19 Phelps/Gosper Horse Show in Elwood
21 FCS Fair Committee Meetings - 7:15 a.m.
21 Entry Day
25 State Fair and Ak-Sar-Ben Pre-Entries Due
31-Aug 2 Gosper County Fair

August Calendar

8 Advanced Ak-Sar-Ben entries due
12 Aksarben Entries due

Fair Questions

Fair always comes with many questions. Adding to those questions this year will be the return of pre-entry of exhibits. Please call the Extension Office with all of your fair questions. Staff will be available to visit with you personally or with your 4-H club members to help you get set for fair! Invite us to your next club meeting! Give us a call!

4-H Food Booth

All 4-H clubs will be asked to work in the 4-H Food Stand during fair. A schedule of work hours for your club is at the end of the July newsletter. Contact your club leader to find out when you are to represent your club in the 4-H Food Stand. Each worker gets one free sno-cone or popcorn at the end of their shift. There will be no eating or drinking inside the stand!

Set Up/Take Down Days

On Friday, July 18, the Phelps County Fair Board will be busy getting ready for the fair. You are invited to help! It's LOTS of fun! Set-up day will be held from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Clubs and individuals are asked to help. Help is needed both on the fairgrounds and inside the Exhibit Hall. Please bring buckets, rags, brooms, etc., with you. Let's make our fair the nicest looking fair around!

Take down day for the fair will be held on Thursday, July 24. The Exhibit Hall clean up will occur at 7:30 a.m. Clean up of the fairgrounds will follow the auction. Please volunteer your time!

Pre-entry for All Exhibits

All exhibits at this year's fair will need to be pre-entered. Pre-entry of fair exhibits are due in our office by July 10. Be prompt with your pre-entries! Your personalized pre-entry form was included with the June Newsletter. If you need a duplicate copy, please contact Sandra in the office or get one on-line at: phelps.unl.edu

To pre-enter your exhibits at the fair, you need to complete the bottom and back portion of your pre-entry form listing the department, division, class number (found in the premium book) of the entry and a short description of the entry.

List all exhibits you think you might bring to the fair. It is better to list an extra exhibit than to forget one! Be sure to include all activities that you think you might participate in like the Aerospace launch, style revue, livestock judging, etc. as well as your exhibits like foods and livestock.

You may bring exhibits to the fair in only those projects in which you are enrolled. Check your personalized pre-entry form to see which projects you enrolled in for the year. Staff members are always willing to help with pre-entry. Ask questions!!!

New Photography Exhibit

In the 4-H Photography Project - there is an exhibit - the photo journal. This exhibit consists of choosing a project area in the project manual and completing the activities associated with that area. Participants should complete all of the pages for the project they choose in the appropriate manual. There are several pages to complete for each project. If you any questions, just call us at the Extension Office.

Entry Day For Livestock

All 4-H Livestock must be brought to the Fairgrounds on Sunday, July 20, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Early entry for 4-H Dairy, Bucket Calves, and Beef will be conducted on Saturday, July 19, in the evening from 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Sheep (1-2 p.m.) and Beef (3-4 p.m.) will be weighed and measured on Sunday. Swine entries will be processed from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. on Monday morning. Sheep will be scanned for carcass contest at 11:00 a.m. Monday. Exhibitors must be present to help. Please check the Premium Book for other specifics.

New this year, Entry cards will be used for swine check-in. Swine exhibitors MUST pick up their swine entry cards at the livestock office BEFORE weighing in their pigs.

Entry Day For Static Exhibits - Monday, July 21

Interview judging begins for all 4-H Foods, Child Development and Home Environment projects at 8:00 a.m. Contact the Extension office at 995-4222 for an interview appointment by 4:00 p.m., Friday, July 18. Even though you are pre-entering your exhibits, you will still need to call the office for an interview time. In this way, you can get the time that best suits your schedule.

All other entries including Ag. Related, Aerospace (rocketry), Horticulture, Woodworking, Photography, etc. should be entered from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on July 21. These items will be judged in a non-interview manner. Late entries will not be judged.

Upon arrival at the Exhibit Hall on July 21, you will need to head to our general entry table. Here, you will pick up all of your entry cards for your exhibits. Allow some extra time to attach your entry cards to your exhibits. After your entry cards are attached, you will proceed to each project area registration table for check in and judging.

Horse Show Pre-Entry

The Phelps/Gosper 4-H Horse Show will be held on Saturday, July 19 in Elwood. Pre-registration is required for this show by the pre-entry date of July 10. To pre-register for the horse show, complete the back side of the pre-entry form that you received in the June Newsletter. Please complete and return this form to the Extension Office by July 10. Don't delay!!! Pre-register for the 4-H Horse Show today!!!

There will be a committee meeting on Tuesday, July 8th at 7:00 pm. at the Bertrand Village Hall. If anyone is interested in attending, please come or contact Jon Wooters at the Gosper County Extension office in Elwood.

Favorite Food Show

The Favorite Food Show will be held on Monday, July 21, starting at 2:00 in the afternoon. It will be held in the Educational Room. 4-H'ers may set up their tables starting at 1:30 p.m. Guidelines for the Favorite Food Show are listed in the Phelps County Fair Premium Book. Plan to participate in this special contest this year. You will need to pre-enter the Favorite Food Show by listing this activity on your pre-entry sheet due July 10. A judging schedule will be made from this pre-entry list. Call the office for more information.

Aerospace News & Launch

Aerospace Entries - Check over the aerospace information in the Premium Book for 2008. You only need to launch your rocket three times to receive the maximum launch points listed on the score sheet. Be sure your Aerospace Project level matches up with the skill level of your rocket. For those exhibitors who purchased a Skill Level 1 Rocket, please enter them in Class 901 or 902. These rockets, and plastic fin rockets, are not eligible to go on to the State Fair, but can be shown in this county only class.

Aerospace Launch - Attention all 4-H'ers enrolled in the Aerospace Project. On Sunday, July 20, we will be holding a Aerospace Launch. Interviews will be held starting at 2:00 in the afternoon with the actual launch starting at 6:30 in the evening. Interviews will be held in the Ag. Center and the launch will be held in the field on the east side of the Ag. Center. Please call the Extension Office to schedule your interview time for the launch.

To participate in the Aerospace launch, list this activity on your pre-entry forms that are due on July 10. However, you will still want to call the office by Friday, July 18, to schedule an interview time for the Aerospace launch that best fits into your schedule.

Fair Committee Meeting

Fair Committee meetings for Foods, Home Environment/Child Development and Creative will be held at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, July 21- right before judging!!! A note will come in the mail with more information.

Livestock Committee Meetings will be on Thursday, July 10. Sheep will be at 7:00, Swine at 7:30, Beef at 8:00, and Auction committee at 8:30.

Horse committee will be meeting Tuesday, July 8 at the Bertrand Village Hall at 7:00 pm. The Horse Committee will be Phelps/Gosper combined and if you are interested in helping with the horse show please come to the meeting or contact Jon Wooters at the Gosper County Extension Office.

Catch-A-Calf

A Catch-A-Calf contest has been added to this year's county fair. The contest will be held during Wednesday night's bull riding. Interested 4-H'ers must be 12 years old. Contestants will be given a halter and asked to catch a calf and drag it across a designated line. The contestants catching will then be given a calf to care for, raise and exhibit at next year's county fair. Any interested 4-H'ers should contact the office before July 10.

Newsletter News!

Congratulations! You have made it half way through the July 4-H Newsletter. To reward you for this effort, a new contest is being held. The first twenty five families that call the Extension Office at 995-4222 and tell us that they are reading this letter, will be rewarded with a $1.00 coupon, one for each member of the family, to be used at the 4-H Food Stand during the 2008 fair. Call now as the contest will end on July 10 and only the first 25 families that call will receive their reward! Coupons may be picked up at the Extension Office during the fair!

Style Revue

Style revue judging will be held Thursday, July 17, beginning at 8:30 a.m. 4-H'ers will model their garments for the judge. Pre-entry for the Style Revue will be made by completing the pre-entry form due July 10. In addition, narration forms will need to be submitted to the office by July 10. A narration sheet was sent to all 4-H'ers enrolled in a clothing project. If you did not receive a letter, please let us know.

The Phelps County Style Revue will be held at the Phelps County Ag. Center on Thursday, July 17, at 7:00 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

Clothing Construction Judging

All clothing construction judging will be held on Thursday, July 17, beginning at 9:00 a.m. All clothing exhibits will be judged on the 17th. All 4-H'ers enrolled in a clothing project should have received a letter with more details. Be sure to contact the office if you have any questions. Complete a pre-entry form for your clothing construction exhibits by July 10. An interview time for your clothing exhibits will be assigned to you based on your pre-entry form.

County Fair Recognition Night

The 4-H Recognition Night will be held on Wednesday, July 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Livestock Arena on the Fairgrounds. Check your exhibits after judging on Entry Day, Monday, to see if you have won an award. If you are to be awarded a trophy, reserve champion rosette or project award or to be awarded a fair contest trophy for 4-H Presentations or Favorite Food Show, you are expected to attend this 4-H Recognition Night.

Release of Exhibits!

County Fair Exhibits in the Exhibit Hall will be released at two different times. Release will occur on Wednesday, July 23, from 9:00-10:00 p.m. and on Thursday, July 24 from 7:30 a.m. until 9:00 a.m. Please pick up all of your exhibits during these times! Help is also needed during these times to help clean the Exhibit Hall. Please volunteer your time!

4-H T-Shirts

The 4-H T-Shirts that many of you ordered will be ready to be picked up on July 14. If you forgot to order a shirt, there are just a few available for sale at the Extension Office. Stop by the office and check out our supply.

Premium Books Available

Fair Premium Books are available for your use. All 4-H families should have received a book in the mail. If you did not receive one, please pick a book up at the Extension Office. We do have a few extras or you may access the book on our web site at www.phelps.unl.edu.
The premium book contains ALL of the rules and regulations for entering an item at the county fair. Only items listed in the premium book will be accepted. Check the book to find which supporting information is needed and in what form, the correct size of poster, plus a host of additional information. Be sure to read the paragraph(s) following each section. Remember, you may only enter items in the projects in which you are enrolled.

4-H Banners

4-H clubs have the opportunity to create a banner promoting some aspect of 4-H in Phelps County. The top banner will be selected to represent Phelps County at the State Fair. Check the premium book for details.

Clover Kid News

Youngsters who are enrolled in a 4-H Clover Kids project may bring what they have made in that project to the fair for display. Clover Kids may bring up to three exhibits in each project. Check in for Clover Kids exhibits will be on Monday, July 21, from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Clover Kid parents are asked to check in their child's exhibits. Instructions for self check in will be available at the Clover Kid booth. Check the fair premium book for more details! Clover Kid exhibits will be on display during the fair, but will not be judged.

Special Fair Awards Available

There are several sponsored fair trophies and other awards that 4-H'ers are eligible to win. Two special awards of note are listed below!

Mary Dahlgren Memorial Award for Best of Show Bread - This is our newest award! Mary Dahlgren, a long time resident of Bertrand and the 2006 Grand Marshal, enjoyed the Bertrand Fair and Rodeo and the Phelps County Fair. Mary passed away last year. One of her favorite pastimes was baking bread. She was known for her delicious rye bread recipe. She would bake it to give away to family and friends. The little loaves were fast sellers at bake sales. Her family would like to announce that at the Phelps County Fair, 4-H'ers may try to win a memorial ribbon and a $25 cash award. This award will be presented to the 4-H'er who has baked the best yeast loaf bread, rolls, quick loaf breads, muffins, etc. 4-H'ers are asked to attach an extra recipe for the family to keep. 4-H'ers are encouraged to try creative recipes. The judge's decision is final.

Marie L. Johnson Memorial Award - This award is presented to the top exhibitor who has participated in such projects as style revue, clothing construction, fiber arts and home environment areas. The recipient is selected based on a point system and the cash award is presented at the 4-H Recognition night at the fair.

Family & Consumer Science

Exhibits in some Clothing and Child Development projects will be required to have special supporting information sheets attached to the exhibits. Foods, Clothing and many Home Environment exhibits will not need sheets this year. However, foods exhibits will need to include the recipe card. Quilted items, some Visual Arts Exhibits, Furnishings on a Shoestring and Heirloom Treasures exhibits will need supporting information sheets. Other Home Environment exhibits may include information sheets if an unusual technique was used, but these sheets are not required. Carefully read the premium book for exhibits that require extra information.

Information sheets will need to be written on a half sheet of 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Check the 2008 Fair Premium Book for specific information needed on each information card for each project. Exhibits not properly completed will be lowered one ribbon placing.

4-H Dog Show

The 4-H Dog Show will be held on Sunday, July 20, in the livestock arena of the fairgrounds. The show will begin at 2:30 p.m. Note the time! Pre-entry is required by completing the pre-entry form due July 10. Vaccination records are also due at this time. Vaccination records must be made on the designated vaccination form available at our office.

Rabbit - Cat - Pets-Poultry

These shows will be held on Monday, July 21. The order and times of the shows are: Rabbit Showmanship-8:00 a.m., Rabbit Show-9:00 a.m., Cat/Pet Show-10:00 a.m. and Poultry Show-11:00 a.m. These shows may run late, but they will not start before the scheduled times. Please schedule your interview times for exhibits in the building with this schedule in mind. All shows will be held in the livestock arena. Pre-entry is required by completing the pre-entry form due July 10.

Rabbits and Poultry must be housed in the Small Animal Barn for the duration of the fair. Check-in for rabbits and poultry will be on Sunday, July 20 from 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. All other small animals will be brought to the fairgrounds for the show and will return home following the show.

Livestock Judging News!

The Phelps County Fair Livestock Judging Contest will be held on Wednesday, July 23, starting at 1:00 p.m. Note the time for this contest and plan to participate! There are judging videos and materials available in the office for check out. Good luck judging! It would be helpful to pre-entry for this activity. But, remember, if you forget, you may still participate!

Stall Assignments

4-H members need to contact their leaders by Tuesday, July 15, with the numbers of livestock they will be bringing to the fair. Leaders need to call the office with these numbers by July 16 for stall assignments.

ID Sheets

If you need to pick up the exhibitor copy of your animal id sheet, they are in the office. You will need them if going to State Fair or Aksarben

Swine exhibitors

It is important that you review the treatment and feed medication records and they meet or exceed the suggested withdrawal periods for Japan Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of pharmaceutical products listed on the National Pork Board website. www.pork.org This is a requirement for selling 4-H pigs through Hormel which includes Phelps County Fair, State Fair, and AKSARBEN.

Phelps Gosper County 4-H Horse Show

The Phelps-Gosper County Fair 4-H Horse Show will be held this year on Saturday, July 19, at 9:00 a.m. in Elwood. Be sure to pre-enter for this show on the pre-entry form due July 10.

Stocker Feeders

Stocker-Feeder Calves at the County Fair only need to be brought in for the day. They don't need to stay for the whole fair. They will show on Monday, July 21 during the Beef Show.

Hay at the Fair

The Phelps County Fair Board has requested only small square bales of hay be brought to the fair. Also, all hay should be kept inside during the fair and extra hay should be cleaned up after the fair is over. Thank you.

Discount State Fair Tickets Available

Discount tickets for the Nebraska State Fair will be offered to 4-H families and volunteers. These tickets may be purchased through our office.

We will be taking pre-orders for these State Fair tickets. Open the State Fair Ticket form below, print off and mail to the office to order your advanced, discount tickets through our office. We will not be ordering extra tickets to hand out. If you want these tickets, you need to complete the form and turn in your money.

State Fair Barbeque

The Nebraska Pork Producers and the Nebraska Soybean Board are sonsoring a FREE BBQ Dinner on Sunday, August 31, 2008 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Nebraska State Fair Gounds Coliseum. 4-H members and their families are invited to attend this event. You must reserve your FREE ticket in advance!! Open the "2008 State Fair Ticket Order" and print out and fill in the appropriate form(s).

State Fair and Barbeque Tickets

Open the following file to print out a copy of the state fair and barbeque ticket order forms. Return to the Extension Office no later than August 1, 2008

2008 State Fair Ticket Order Form

State Fair Exhibitor Age Reminder

Just a reminder that to exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair, you need to be 10 years old by January 1, current year. This age applies to any contest where the 4-H'ers presence is required. Previously the age was 12. There are no changes in static exhibits. All 4-H'ers, regardless of age, are eligible to send static exhibits to the State Fair if the they are chosen by the judge to exhibit in a 4-H project that qualifies for the State Fair.

State Fair Advance Entries

All advance entries for the Nebraska State Fair must be submitted to the Extension Office with the entry fees, by Friday, July 25. Entries requiring advance registration would include all livestock and animal entries, style revue and presentations. Entry fees must be paid for in advance, by personal check, for your family members only. No cash, please. This lets us keep track of a "paper trail"! Remember to get your entries in to the office on time. The Nebraska State Fair will not accept any late entries!

State Fair Dates of Interest

July 25-Advance entries due for animal and fair contests.
August 19-All static exhibits due in Extension Office. Example: Foods, Clothing,Etc.
August 21 & 22-State Fair Entries Judged
August 23-State Fair Begins
August 23-State Fair Dog & Cat Shows Aug29-Sept. 1-Labor Day Weekend at the State Fair

Ak-Sar-Ben Dates of Interest

August 8-Advance entries due in Extension Office.
Sept. 22 to Sept. 29-Ak-Sar-Ben Livestock Exposition

Extra...Extra...Extra

During this year's fair, please say a "good-bye" to Debi Schulz. Debi, who has been the Phelps County Extension Assistant and South Central 4-H Camp Manager will be leaving Extension to accept a position closer to her home. We all wish Debi good luck in her new adventures and will miss her in Phelps County.

2008 4-H FOOD STAND SCHEDULE

SUNDAY - JULY 20

2:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m. Atlanta Industry

MONDAY - JULY 21

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 4-Leaf Paws
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4-H Heelers
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Midland Clovers
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. 4-H Leprechauns

TUESDAY - JULY 22

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Unlimited Achievers
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Midwest Livestock
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Loomis Livestock
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Kountry Kids 2

WEDNESDAY - JULY 23

10:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. 4-Leaf Clovers
2:00 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. Fantastic 4-H'ers
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Lone Star 4-H'ers

THURSDAY, JULY 24

7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.Stable Kids

WEDNESDAY EVENING - JULY 23

4-H Council Members - Concessions at Bull Riding

Phelps 4-H Newsletter - July 2008