ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The St. Joseph County 4-H Fair is celebrating its members in grades three through 12.
Participants can raise livestock or compete in a variety of projects displayed inside the exhibit hall.
Those projects range from cooking and sewing to scrapbooking, model building, gardening and LEGO creations.
Kristen Sikorski-Conklin, fair board president, says leadership is one of the biggest lessons 4-H teaches, along with time management, perseverance and dedication.
"Last year we started just a night for the 4-Hers to come together, not have to worry about their projects or their livestock and they can just have some fun together. They'll have a DJ, karaoke, inflatable races and some food for the kids. Just a way for them all to come together and celebrate the work they do all year," said Sikorski-Conklin.
Lily Prince, an incoming eighth grader, has been involved in 4-H since she was about 2 years old. She followed in the footsteps of her parents and older siblings. Today, she specializes in showing pigs.
"When the pigs are at the fair, they have their pens at the barn and they have self-waterers, but we pan feed instead, and we give them baths to make sure they're clean and ready for show day," said Prince.
Prince says caring for animals is a big responsibility. It takes daily dedication to keep them healthy, clean and ready to compete while making sure her other projects are completed and turned in on time.
She is also involved in child development, beekeeping, foods and geology. She has completed 21 projects this year across many different programs with many different people. She is also a member of the Junior Leaders program.
"I wanna do this. I wanna watch my kids go through 4-H. I think this is a really important thing. I wanna be a tenure member and help out after I'm done with 4-H. I just think it's a really great opportunity," said Prince.