Photo:  The Estill County 4-H display of the youth's 4-H projects going to the 2021 Kentucky State Fair. 

In the previous program year, Estill County 4-H came up with was a 4-H Project Fair Series. During COVID, youth had the opportunity and the materials to create various State Fair projects in the comfort of their own home. Project materials were put together in kits during the virtual series, that youth would then pick up and put together in a zoom meeting. After restrictions were lifted, we continued to complete various projects in-person. Within each project, youth learned about multiple different program areas including Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Expressive Arts. Estill County 4-H had forty-one youth participate in our 2021-2022 Fair Project Series. Each project included a lesson that had handouts and educational presentations. Due to the Fair Project Series during COVID, Estill County 4-H has sixty-eight entries sent on to the Kentucky State Fair. The Kentucky State Fair hosts 4-H projects from across the state in Cloverville. Cloverville consists of eighteen divisions where 4-H'ers can showcase their projects. In order to exhibit a 4-H project in Cloverville, 4-H'ers must first compete in their county and be selected as the grand champion in the class. These grand champions advance to the Kentucky State Fair and are exhibited in Cloverville where they are judged on the Danish System. With this system, each child will receive a blue, red, or white ribbon on their entry. The judges do not judge one person’s work by comparing it to another’s. The evaluation is made against a standard. A judge looks to see whether requirements are met. If the work meets high standards, it receives an excellent rating and blue ribbon. A red ribbon signifies very good work. White ribbons are given for work of good quality that will benefit from further improvements. The purpose of using the Danish judging system is to give every 4-H member the recognition deserved for the work that was done. It also helps young people recognize the need to improve their skills and to “make the best better.”  The Kentucky State Fair 4-H events demonstrate a 4-Her’s level of mastery in project work through completion of displayed items. Within the entries Estill County sent, twenty-nine projects received a blue ribbon, twenty-two received a red ribbon, and sixteen received a white ribbon. Overall, eleven projects received the grand champion ribbon at the 2021 state fair.  Of the eleven youth that had entries sent on to the state fair, all had received a blue ribbon or grand champion ribbon on one or more of their projects.