Forecast Calls for 100 Percent Chance of Fun at 4-H Fair

By Mike Deak

For an event that celebrates the beauty and design of nature, the Somerset County 4-H Fair is totally at the mercy of the occasionally cruel whims of nature.

”We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Joe Bakes, president of the Somerset County 4-H Association, as he walked the fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon under a sky of scudding dark clouds.Though the sky stubbornly remained threatening, showers skirted the fair on Wednesday. But the forecast for the fair’s two remaining days is ominous, with at least a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.

But that was not enough to dampen the spirits of Bakes, who said attendance at the fair on Wednesday was “fantastic.”

”It’s better than other years,” he said, adding that the parking lots at North Branch Park filled up earlier this year.

If the weather is good, about 50,000 people are expected to attend the fair, Somerset County’s most popular summer event. “The attendance is totally dependent on the weather,” Bakes said

The fair is an opportunity for the 1,000 members of 4-H in Somerset County showcase their projects that they have worked on for the past year, whether it’s raising a chicken, tending to an alpaca, racing a go-kart, building a model railroad or launching a model rocket..

Many of the first-day attendees of the fair were day campers from outside Somerset County, including Irvington and East Orange, who may have never seen a live cow or horse, let alone had an opportunity to pet them.

One of the fair’s new features this year is that children can pick up a “passport” at the information tent near the entrance and get it punched at 10 tents to claim a prize, Bakes said. “It’s like a scavenger hunt,” he said.

The fair’s free family-friendly atmosphere is one of the reasons that Somerset County Surrogate Frank Bruno returns to the fair with, first, his children and now his grandchildren.

Bruno said what separates the Somerset County 4-H fair from others in the state and makes it special is the lack of commercialism.

For Somerset County Freeholder Peter Palmer, the best part of the fair is the “amazing” variety of people he meets every year at the fair.
   
 Maps and schedules of daily events, such as dog, horse and livestock shows, will be available in the information tent or by clicking http://somerset.njaes.rutgers.edu/4hfair/4h-2013-Fair-Schedules.pdf and http://somerset.njaes.rutgers.edu/4hfair/4h-2013-Fair-Map.pdf.  

To make getting in and out of the fairgrounds as easy as possible, free shuttle buses will run from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. each day of the fair from Raritan Valley Community College on Route 28 in Branchburg. If there is heavy rain, all parking may be switched to the college.

Under the big top, more than 20 community organizations will offer a wide variety of meals and snacks. All day there will be professional and amateur entertainment.

Ten other 4-H tents will house a variety of animals including dairy cows, beef, alpaca, horses, dogs, herpetology, sheep, goats, poultry, rabbits and small animals. Most animal tents have a petting area and information about how to join 4-H.

Patch will also be at the fair with partner Benjamin Moore, handing out fun freebies. Patch has partnered with Benjamin Moore to promote their program Main Street Matters. We both share a commitment to connecting our communities and helping them prosper

For more information about the Fair, how to join 4-H or how to volunteer to assist, call the 4-H Office, 908-526-6644.