Elkhart County 4-H Fair
Encyclopedia
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
Fair is held in late July in Goshen, Indiana
Goshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
. It is the second largest county fair in the country. In 2008, 240,859 guests visited the Fair during the 9 day event. The Elkhart County 4-H Fair is known for its free grandstand entertainment and concerts. Over 4700 Elkhart county youth are involved in 4-H, displaying 8000 projects at the Fair annually.
History
The Elkhart County 4-H Fair started in 1851 on Goshen, IndianaGoshen, Indiana
Goshen is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area. It is located in the northern...
's courthouse square. Its goal was to give local farmers a place to learn about new farming techniques and a chance to compete for excellence in farming. During the American Civil War, the fair had to take a small break. Soon after, the fair looked for new ways to get urban dwellers interested in the fair resulting in more profit.
In the early 1870s attendance skyrocketed when baseball games, sideshow performers, and horse races became the popular attractions at the fair. Twenty years later the County Fair pp brought the first festival ride, the merry-go-round, and became the fair's first midway.
The Elkhart County Fairgrounds
The Elkhart County Fairgrounds hosts over 150 events during year when the Fair is not being held. The fairgrounds consists of 143 acre (0.57870098 km²) with 70 buildings and over 300 permanent RV sites in addition to 600 temporary RV sites. One of the most popular non-fair events are RV travel rallies. In 2008, 9 RV travel rallies were hosted at the fairgrounds.The Elkhart County 4-H fair has been widely regarded as one of the best county fairs in the nation, being ranked both 2nd and 4th in the past 10 years.
The Elkhart County 4-H Fair is one of the top 50 fairs and expositions in the nation; including Canada and Mexico. When the fair is not in season, the fairgrounds stays busy with other events including the IPRA Spring Rodeo, Autumn Splendor Arts & Crafts Show, Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale, Michiana Chevy Show, and is a year-round public campground.
Attendance
More than 300,000 people walk through the gates during the 9 day event of the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. In 2009, it was estimated that attendance was up seven percent from 2008.The 4-H Fair Week Grandstand Events
On the first Friday of the fair, the fair officially opens with a traditional ribbon cutting followed by the Senior Queen Contest. Later in the afternoon, the annual cheerleading contest takes place, with local high schools, middle schools, and gyms competing for first place. The evening then wraps up with the Elkhart County 4-H Fair Queen Contest where 50 young women compete for the title.On Saturday, also known as Senior Citizens day, the Harness Racing takes place in the early afternoon and the evening ends with a concert featuring a popular singing group, band or artist.
On Sunday of the fair, the famous Elkhart County 4-H Fair Parade goes past the grandstands in the afternoon. Later in the evening, a popular featured Christian singing group or band plays at the grandstands.
On Monday, Harness Racing takes up most of the day and ending the day with another popular singing group, band, or artist.
On Tuesday, also known as Senior Citizens Day #2, more Harness Racing takes place for most of the day and the day ends again with another popular singing group, band, or artist.
On Wednesday, also known as Kid's Day, the grandstands don't feature any events until another popular singing group, band, or artist performs that evening.
On Thursday, the Tractor Pulls compete all day long featuring different classes of tractors including antique tractors and Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil
Lucas Oil Products is a manufacturer and distributor of automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It was founded by trucker Forrest Lucas and his wife Charlotte in 1989....
PPL Tractors.
On Friday the Wagon Wheel IPRA Rodeo takes place all day long with a second rodeo in the evening. In between the two rodeo's, the annual horse pulling contest takes place in the early evening.
On Saturday, the last day of the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, the motorcycle races take place in the afternoon and the Nation-Wide Demolition Derby ends the fair week.
There are approximately 600 volunteers for the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. The entire fair board is volunteer and sometimes fair board and other volunteers take a weeks vacation to volunteer their time.