The Whitley County Fair has been an annual event in our community for a number of years. However, in recent years the participation involved in the fair has dwindled. The Whitley County Extension Office has taken an initiative to help support and build the Whitley County Fair back to a staple event for the folks of Whitley County. One of the ways that our office contributed was to host the Annual Farm & Home Exhibit Show at our Goldbug location for the duration of the fair. The Exhibit Show consists of a variety of categories ranging from Horticulture Crops to the Arts, and also includes categories for youth and 4H. 

For the previous two years Agents and Staff here at the Whitley County Extension Office has worked diligently to promote and advertise the Farm & Home exhibit show throughout the community, making an effort to increase the participation in each of the given categories. As the Horticulture Agent, my primary focus has been working with and encouraging my clientele, which includes our commercial growers as well as families with the backyard garden or the folks growing in containers on the porch, to participate and enter the produce into our exhibit show. 

Since 2022, the participation in the Vegetable Crops/ Food and Food Preservatives of the exhibit show has increased. This year in the 33 possible categories for entry in the Vegetable Show- the community had an entry in 26 of the. This was a HUGE success.. given that in 2021 on 5-33 categories had an entry. 

Agents in Family and Consumer Science, Community Arts, Agriculture and 4H were all assets to the success of the Farm and Home Exhibit Show. Numerous entries fulfilled their respected categories as well. 

The Farm and Home Exhibit Show portion of the Whitley County Fair provided our community with an opportunity to showcase their hard work and many talents. We have an incredible amount of talent all across the board in Whitley County. We will continue to work with our respected clientele throughout the upcoming year and continue the diligent effort to work with our community partners in making the Whitley County Fair a success for years to come.