Ended Official BYC 2023 Summer Fair Contest—Favorite Fair Memories

[Show Sebright]

What a FUN memory book! Might I suggest a collage for display at the Fair? You could even make a game of it ... use older pics and have everyone "Name That Napper!"

Ha ha that would be funny. Our fair won’t do that. We barely have enough space for posters. Maybe we can do it in my chapter at school. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Riverbend Farms]

I won reserve supreme champion with my hens eggs! I am in a 4-H group and I am in the poultry project. I have an awesome leader. We decorated our turkeys pens since the theme was red white and blue (same as last year). Since my eggs won one of the Champion titles I sold them in sale of champions and I helped my mom decorate the basket. Eggs are a very good thing to sell for people who don't have a lot of room (like they can maybe only have 2-3 hens) and maybe don't have enough time to raise a turkey, steer, lamb, goat, etc. You have to clean them and make sure they are as close as they can be in shape, size, and color. This was my second year showing at the fair and it is so fun! I just got some new show pullets too, here they are:
The one in the back is Josephine and the one in the front is Chardonnay. Josephine is a 6 week-old Mille Fleur D'Uccle pullet and Chardonnay is her sister, she is a 4-week old Mille Fleur.

 

[Lakeviewfarm]

We had a great experience at the fair this year. Mommy, daughter date to the livestock auction, demo derby, rides, snack, all the things. The parade, it was magical. My small town shows up for the kids. This photo made my entire summer. We respect and are continuously in awe of our hero’s around here! The look in my baby girls eyes when she got a wave and candy from those she trusts literally with her life. Seeing them as humans engaging the community. There is nothing like it. Love our small town!

 

[perkolator]

My best fair memory is from when I was around 12yrs old. This was at the San Diego County Fair and I finally got to attend my very first rock concert - it was Peter Frampton! Since that day, whenever I hear “Do You Feel Like I Do?” I crank it up to 11.

My worst fair memory was 10yrs ago, taking our 1yr old first child to the Gold Country Fair. My wife’s a teacher and has many students who are in FFA, so we always go through the animals area to say hello and see what they have raised.
A student was just finishing up grooming her steer “Bulldozer” for auction display.
We’re all standing around pretty close by, Student even let our kid pet Bulldozer. Couple minutes later I’m now holding our kid and all of a sudden I see the white of the cows eye, as it darted back at me holding the kid. I caught a blur of movement somewhere else and everything goes into slow-motion as my Dad-reflexes take action, thankfully turning my kid away from the bull. Of course that blur had to be Bulldozer’s gigantic rear hoof, somehow flying sideways in front of the cage bar…aiming right for my groin. Thankfully it wasn’t a direct hit to the Family Jewels but close enough; even more lucky to not have been standing even 1” closer, because it still felt like taking a blow from a sledgehammer. Of course it still gets mentioned a decade later whenever we go to the fair
So yeah, thanks to the county fair, I can honestly claim that I’ve been kicked in the groin by a steer named Bulldozer, while holding a baby.
Bulldozer:

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have 2 rooster at the fair memories.

First one I was at the fair, and heard a rooster crowing and it was crowing and crowing some more. I thought, I have to see this bad boy, and it was a white Japanese rooster. I went up to him, and said, "Boy, you think a whole lot about yourself." And then he dropped his wing and danced towards me looking at me in the eye the whole time. I was so in love with roosters after that!

My second memory was at the same fair a different year. A lady had the tiniest rooster I had ever seen, (serama), and he stood like a man on a table. I asked the lady if I could hold him, and she said to the rooster..."This lady is going to hold you, don't be afraid."

 

[MROO]

View attachment 3606063
We had a great experience at the fair this year. Mommy, daughter date to the livestock auction, demo derby, rides, snack, all the things. The parade, it was magical. My small town shows up for the kids. This photo made my entire summer. We respect and are continuously in awe of our hero’s around here! The look in my baby girls eyes when she got a wave and candy from those she trusts literally with her life. Seeing them as humans engaging the community. There is nothing like it. Love our small town!

Small-Town Life is the BEST!

 

[Lakeviewfarm]

Small-Town Life is the BEST!

It is! I’m so grateful for the opportunities here

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Thank you to all who have entered so far! Lovely stories to read through

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

“Contest now closed”

Thank you to all entrants in this contest! What lovely fair memories to read! Winners will be announced as soon as possible

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

@ChicksnMore, @Fluffy Lambs, @Jenbirdee, @Bigandlittles, @MROO, @Show Sebright, @Riverbend Farms, @perkolator, & @gimmie birdies
​

All 15 entries were entered into a spreadsheet in the order they were posted and given a number. To pick the winners, the random number generator was used.

#3 - @ChicksnMore

My favorite memory is from when my youngest was still little. She was born autistic and had sensory processing issues. She was hypersensitive to sound and struggled with loud, noisy places. So you can imagine how hard fairs were for her...talk about sensory overload! Mean mom that I am, I'd take her anyway. Done right it's free therapy.

When she was 4 she had her first ah-ha fair moment in the poultry barn. Shes always been bird enchanted and that year she got to see those puff chested pigeons with their heads so far back you expect them to topple over. My little one got her intense focus on and studied those birds for the longest time. First time she was able to filter everything out enough to enjoy something she saw there. She loves pigeons to this day.

#4 - @Fluffy Lambs

I don't know if it's my favorite but it's funny this year the steer I picked was like very skittish and a jerk if he wanted to be (like he would see somebody 100 feet away and and take off sometimes) well they made a new rule at the fair you have to walk your steer around the ring after you get there and if you can't handle him you don't get to show so I was going in it with him to walk him around for the people to see and he stopped so I was pulling on the rope and then I just fell on my butt because the braided part where the rope is on the snap came unbraided of all the times it could have happened and it did it there and I just was like thinking we'll never get him caught now because he was so nervous all the time about people but the people out in the ring got all around him and one guy grabbed the halter and he (the steer) just stood there and was fine! Praise The Lord!!!!!

#5 - @Jenbirdee

Taking my kids to see the cows! We just LOVED seeing the cows close up, petting them, and taking selfies with them!
This is my daughter petting a cow. I remember it was a very hot day. Just visiting the animals was the only reason we even went to the fair . well that and the fresh cut french fries!. But I kept my family away from the carnival rides. I just didn’t like the atmosphere. We had fun with seeing the goats and the pigs and the bunnies and the birds, and sometimes went into the artwork building to look at photographs and paintings , but hanging out with the cows was always our favorite.!!

#6 - @Bigandlittles

I’m from a small town in south Louisiana right on the beach. We didn’t have large livestock fairs and things like that but we would have a Blessing of the Fleet ‘fair’ every year. This is where they would bless our shrimp boats for a good prosperous season. My favorite memory from that is riding on the Ferris wheel and being able to look out from the top and seeing nothing but water in all directions. It is a feeling I can’t really describe but I will surly never forget it.
Not to mention the smell of fried seafood wafting around the place. The smells were amazing.

#10 - @MROO

Wow ... a favorite memory. I have so many! Between my sister, her boys and my own children, we've lived in the barn at the County Fair every summer for ages. Believe it or not, I always enjoy the storms! We always have at least one good "weather event" each Fair Week and the 4H kids gather in "Barn C." They have it down to a science, so we're always dry, well fed, entertained and HAPPY. Lemme tell you - if you're stuck at the Fair during a thunder storm - the Dairy Barn is the happening place to be! Still, if I had to pick a single "Best Memory," It was the night we were "stuck" in the barn til three in the morning.

First - a little background:
Show rules state clearly that all 4H cattle must stay onsite until released on closing night. That's usually just after the demo-derby ends. As soon as the notice comes down, the Dairy Barn kicks into high gear. It's a well-choreographed ritual practiced for decades. Trailers double-line the pathways, If you're not walking an animal out or pushing an over-loaded wheelbarrow to the straw-lot, you stay out of the way. It's amazing to watch - almost like a dance. In under an hour, all of the animals are on their way home, the gear boxes (packed earlier in the evening in prep for the rush) are gone, the floors are swept clean and the only people left are the ones dismantling the massive fans.

It happens exactly the same way ... Every. Single. Year. Even the year of my "Favorite Memory," except that on that particular Saturday night, when all the dust and chaff and cow poop had settled, there was one cow left behind. Salty Talk, my nephew's prize Guernsey, was in labor!

Before anyone jumps on to fuss, no one expected Salty's little surprise. She wasn't due for over a week and first-time heifers tend to run late, not early. As soon as he realized what was going on, my nephew requested an exception so he could take her home early. By the time the Fair's vet authorized her early release (mid-afternoon,) it was not a good idea to move her. Once breakdown was complete, he tripled Salty's stall area, bedded her down deep in clean straw, then we settled in to wait her out.

Word spread quietly. By the time the Fair officially closed, a small crowd had gathered. Most of the dairy people had left with their animals, but there were others - some rabbit exhibitors, a few from the goats, and two "outside" families who had wandered in after the derby and asked permission to stay. Food vendors stopped by with leftovers to share and someone brought a cooler of cold water. All of a sudden, we had a party!

It was the quietest, most respectful party I've ever attended. As this was a new experience for most, there were lots of stories and lots of questions, My sister, always the teacher, handled them like a pro. She explained everything that was going on as it happened. A lot of people learned a lot about how farming works, where their milk comes from and how the miracle called "Life" begins. Salty Talk's first calf made her debut, just about midnight, to the sound of the most beautiful, audible sigh I've ever heard. The baby's name? "Showstopper," because that's what she did!

Showstopper made the front page of the local paper that weekend - a picture of my nephew carrying her out of the barn to go home the next day. That was ten years ago. Showstopper is still part of the family's milking herd. She knows her name, comes when you call her, and pushes into your hands for head scratches. I swear, Guernseys are the biggest Golden Retrievers on the planet - and she's one of my favorites, by far!

EDIT TO ADD: Here's the newspaper pic of my nephew and Showstopper. She was just hours old!

#11 - @Show Sebright

My favorite memory at this past years fair was during market week. After I spent half the morning sheering with my dad and friends watching we all fell asleep. My advisor walks into fair around noon to find us all passed out in our chairs. She took a selfie with all of us in it. After that, it was a thing to be ‘caught sleeping on the job’ and getting your photo taken. I’m out end of the scrap book I was able to fill 2 front and pack pages of all of us sleeping. The fair is definitely a show tor remember. Mine is only 6 months and 19 days away!

#12 - @Riverbend Farms

I won reserve supreme champion with my hens eggs! I am in a 4-H group and I am in the poultry project. I have an awesome leader. We decorated our turkeys pens since the theme was red white and blue (same as last year). Since my eggs won one of the Champion titles I sold them in sale of champions and I helped my mom decorate the basket. Eggs are a very good thing to sell for people who don't have a lot of room (like they can maybe only have 2-3 hens) and maybe don't have enough time to raise a turkey, steer, lamb, goat, etc. You have to clean them and make sure they are as close as they can be in shape, size, and color. This was my second year showing at the fair and it is so fun! I just got some new show pullets too, here they are:
The one in the back is Josephine and the one in the front is Chardonnay. Josephine is a 6 week-old Mille Fleur D'Uccle pullet and Chardonnay is her sister, she is a 4-week old Mille Fleur.

#14 - @perkolator

My best fair memory is from when I was around 12yrs old. This was at the San Diego County Fair and I finally got to attend my very first rock concert - it was Peter Frampton! Since that day, whenever I hear “Do You Feel Like I Do?” I crank it up to 11.

My worst fair memory was 10yrs ago, taking our 1yr old first child to the Gold Country Fair. My wife’s a teacher and has many students who are in FFA, so we always go through the animals area to say hello and see what they have raised.
A student was just finishing up grooming her steer “Bulldozer” for auction display.
We’re all standing around pretty close by, Student even let our kid pet Bulldozer. Couple minutes later I’m now holding our kid and all of a sudden I see the white of the cows eye, as it darted back at me holding the kid. I caught a blur of movement somewhere else and everything goes into slow-motion as my Dad-reflexes take action, thankfully turning my kid away from the bull. Of course that blur had to be Bulldozer’s gigantic rear hoof, somehow flying sideways in front of the cage bar…aiming right for my groin. Thankfully it wasn’t a direct hit to the Family Jewels but close enough; even more lucky to not have been standing even 1” closer, because it still felt like taking a blow from a sledgehammer. Of course it still gets mentioned a decade later whenever we go to the fair
So yeah, thanks to the county fair, I can honestly claim that I’ve been kicked in the groin by a steer named Bulldozer, while holding a baby.
Bulldozer:

#15 - @gimmie birdies

I have 2 rooster at the fair memories.

First one I was at the fair, and heard a rooster crowing and it was crowing and crowing some more. I thought, I have to see this bad boy, and it was a white Japanese rooster. I went up to him, and said, "Boy, you think a whole lot about yourself." And then he dropped his wing and danced towards me looking at me in the eye the whole time. I was so in love with roosters after that!

My second memory was at the same fair a different year. A lady had the tiniest rooster I had ever seen, (serama), and he stood like a man on a table. I asked the lady if I could hold him, and she said to the rooster..."This lady is going to hold you, don't be afraid."

@ChicksnMore, @Fluffy Lambs, @Jenbirdee, @Bigandlittles, @MROO, @Show Sebright, @Riverbend Farms, @perkolator, & @gimmie birdies, I will send you instructions on how to claim your prizes momentarily!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all who participated, this wouldn't have been possible without all of your entries!!!!

Great job, everyone, this was so much fun!!

And THANK YOU to our BYC Sponsors (click to view & support them)​