Virtual Fun Fair to showcase Piece County 4-H youth projects completed during COVID-19
Youths in Pierce County 4-H will display creative projects they made at home during COVID-19 social distancing at a Virtual Fun Fair, May 1 through May 31, 2020.
Youth-created paper crafts, photography, and textiles will be visible via a virtual showcase through FairEntry, a web-based event platform.
4-H Program Coordinator Mike Seiber, one of the main organizers of the Virtual Fun Fair, said the projects will be judged on up to four photographs of each submitted by participants, and will be awarded virtual ribbons of blue, red or white.
“The judges will be able to see all the photos online,” said Seiber.
Once judges have entered their decisions into FairEntry, results will be available on a web page, where youth participants can find their virtual ribbons and awards.
An upside of going virtual allows participation from home, and allows members to try projects they are not enrolled in currently.
“They can send a link to grandparents, distant relatives, and friends, who can see all that they’ve done,” Seiber said. A results webpage has been part of the Fair for three years, but is more important now than ever.
Members do not need to be active 4-H members to submit exhibits. The Virtual Fun Fair has been opened to 4-H partner agencies in the Pierce Kitsap County YMCA Afterschool Child Care and National Guard and Military dependents at Camp Murray and Joint Base Lewis McChord.
Plans for the Pierce County Fair, held in August, are in progress, Seiber said.
“We’re not sure what the summer is going to give us,” said Seiber. In the contingency that the August fair goes virtual, Pierce County 4-H will be ready. “We’re proud of all of our 4-H members for adapting to the present challenges, and working together virtually.”
More information on the Pierce County Virtual Fun Fair is available at extension.wsu.edu/pierce/virtual-fun-fair.