When the announcement was made in May that there would be no county fairs and no Minnesota State Fair — dubbed as the “Great Minnesota Get-Together — it was a disappointment for many.
Sixteen-year-old Addison Hillman of Brainerd who has received several showmanship awards and grand champions over the years was sad when she heard the news that there would be no county or state fair.
“There is nothing like going into the ring and knowing you worked so hard and your animals look so good,” she said. “The suspense when they line all the animals up and the possibility that you could get first place or grand champion — it’s a pretty great feeling.”
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Hillman, who has been in 4-H since first grade showing cows, has learned so much from the 4-H program and looks forward every year to the fairs. The main reason why county fairs began so many years ago was to provide opportunities for youths to foster life skills like leadership and problem-solving and a work ethic, to name a few. Youths show their projects as they demonstrate the knowledge and skills they’ve gained throughout the year, as stated on the University of Minnesota Extension website.
“County fairs not only make great memories, they help 4-H youth grow into successful adults,” the website stated.
People began brainstorming ways to host an event for youths so they would be able to show their animals and do some 4-H events — to put a smile on the children’s faces. Different approaches were made and these past two weeks did provide something for the youths.
Lori L. Hall, the regional extension educator for youth development at the U of MN Extension Office, stated in an email that every local 4-H program worked with their volunteers and fair board members to decide if they had the capacity to host an in-person show. “The volunteers and youth leaders in Crow Wing decided that it just wasn't possible this year,” Hall stated.
However, volunteers led by a 4-H father — Andy Hillman — hosted a “No Show Fair” Aug. 8-9 at the Crow Wing County Fairgrounds in Brainerd. During the event, COVID guidelines were in place with social distancing and hand sanitizer and masks were required.
Gary Doucette, Crow Wing County Fair manager, said they sponsored the ribbons and awards for the event, and asked nothing in return.
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“This takes a lot of donations and time to make this work,” Doucette said. “There was a good turn out. I was impressed with everybody as they did good at social distancing. They did everything by the book. It was a wonderful family-orientated event.”
Hillman wanted to do something as a parent and a supporter of youths and their livestock animals. Hillman said with his vision — and help from his wife, Connie, and daughter Addison — they were able to make a “No Show Fair” happen and be successful.
“The vision I had back when the world was coming to an end was that if the fair got canceled, I was going to hold a show anyway, one way or the other,” Andy Hillman said. “The Crow Wing County Fair manager was gracious enough to rent the fairgrounds to us and we had plenty of volunteers that had the same vision and were glad the kids were able to do something even though everything else was being shut down ... Everything had multiple meanings and everything kind of fell into place.
“I was excited to do this and it worked out.”
The Hillmans had sponsors to help and about 20 volunteers. Individuals showed beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, pigs/swine and sheep. In all, there were just over 200 livestock animals entered for the event.
“I was very proud of everyone who helped me put it together to pull it off,” Hillman said. “It was very cool, I don’t know how many times someone came up and told me ‘This is so awesome,’ ‘Thanks for doing this.’ To me it was without them (kids and the families) there wouldn’t be a show. Everyone was so happy and appreciative they had a venue to go to. It was a humbling experience to be in.”
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Hillman’s daughter Addison Hillman showed a Black Angus in the beef cattle category for the show. The soon-to-be high school junior loves her cows and has shown them for many years, winning many awards. The Brainerd teen was named the 2020 Mississippi Valley Cattlemen’s Association beef princess earlier this year.
“This show was different (from previous years) as the general public wasn’t there,” Addison Hillman said. “There was no normal fair food, but it was really busy for me as my dad was running it. I had 11 animals and people helped me show my cows. I only showed three of them. I had to make sure all the animals were taken care of and also helped my dad.
“It was enjoyable and nice to have a show because we worked hard all year and then to have the fairs canceled and then to have nothing to show off all our animals — so it was nice to have at least one show,” Addison Hillman said.
Addison Hillman said this year she did pretty well in the showmanship awards and she got a “call back in showmanship” where they took the top two in each class to compete.
Ali Schroer, a junior at Brainerd High School, showed her sheep in the livestock show in the lightweight category. She said her sheep, named Johnny Knoxville, placed third in her class.
“I’ve never shown a sheep before and I did pretty OK,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to show other livestock besides my horse and this year I had the opportunity ... It was fun, but I am sore.”
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Schroer doesn’t show cattle or swine so on that day of the fair she volunteered at the ice cream stand as a dairy ambassador.
Not only did Schroer show livestock, she also participated in a horse show which was in a different area of the fairgrounds — again meeting social distancing requirements. The horse show was sponsored by Boots’n Buckle Saddle Club of the Western Saddle Clubs Association. There were two weekends of horse shows at the county fairgrounds.
Schroer has been a part of the horse show at the county fair for four years. This year, her horse placed second in pole weaving, third in keyhole, second in jumping figure eights and fourth in barrels — in the first weekend horse show, Aug. 8-9.
Tammy Blazek, president of the Boots’n Buckles Club, wanted to offer club members a chance to have horse shows when the main shows were postponed because of the coronavirus. She said the first weekend of the horse shows brought about 50 riders and the second weekend was much less, as people were either busy or were still leary about being out and about. Blazek said the horse shows offered competitive and pleasure events. Pleasure events are judged on the horse's ability to perform the required gaits in a quiet and enjoyable manner, the WSCA’s website stated.
Blazek said it was nice to have the horse shows to offer people some normalcy in today’s pandemic world.
In a statement provided by the horse club after a phone interview, the club stated they are blessed to have the Crow Wing County Fair Board to work with so they are able to put on shows like they did earlier this month.
“Volunteers and club members are an important part of a smooth running show and we had some community members assist so the show ran more efficiently,” the statement read. “ ... The exhibitors appreciated the work to put on the show and their ability to show in these uncertain times where leisure time activities have been extremely limited or canceled all together. We are thankful to be able to host events in our wonderful community.”
Traveling south to Morrison County, the 4-H program there sponsored an event Aug. 11-15 at its fairgrounds in Little Falls.
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Becky Moe, the Extension educator/4-H Youth Development in Morrison County, said 96 individuals participated in what the county called its 4-H Achievement Days. Five of the 96 submitted entries were virtual. There were 589 entries total with 348 of those in the livestock/horse side. There were 85 volunteers who donated more than 400 hours during the course of the five days to help make the event possible.
The county worked with the Morrison County Ag Society to make the event possible, all while social distancing and following COVID-19 requirements. The five-day event allowed youths to show livestock such as beef and dairy cattle and animals, such as rabbits, poultry, goats and swine and non-animal related youth projects, such as photography and computer and craft projects.
Moe said the event took a lot of work with many volunteers working together, but it was all worth it seeing the youths show their prized works.
“It’s really hard to describe,” Moe said of her feeling watching the young people at the event. “It’s something you just don’t understand. Sorry, I am getting all emotional. But they ... a child told me at a meeting we were at that they just wish there was something that wasn’t canceled. And then to see them out there and for some it was their first time showing. Some are not able to do this in another county, so I was just so happy that we were able to give that to them.
“4-H is a really neat opportunity for families and 4-H is supposed to be a family organization. They learn such responsibility ... and they build such a unique bond with their animals, it is really, really cool.”
JENNIFER KRAUS may be reached at jennifer.kraus@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5851. Follow me at www.twitter.com/jennewsgirl on Twitter.
