For as long as most can remember, the Columbia County Fair and Livestock Show has delivered nights of carnival rides, dazzling neon lights, and bubblegum pink cotton candy mixed with a grand showing of prized farm animals and finely crafted exhibits for all the community to see. But sometimes, the fairground happenings during the morning hours of the weeklong festival can bring just as much excitement to those in attendance.
Every day this week, schoolchildren from around the county have been able to see up-close live pigs, cows, chickens, rabbits, and goats. The tradition, though, of children piling off school buses and touring the animal show barn is nothing new. But over the past two years, a concerted effort has been made by the Magnolia FFA (Future Farmers of America) Club to not only provide wondrous mornings with the animals, but also teach kids, if only for a little while, the tasks involved in feeding, farming, and caring for such specimens.
“FFA is all about community service and giving back,” said Magnolia FFA Advisor Mark Fullenwider. “But last year, they wanted to come up with something different and try to let the kids learn more about these animals.”
To begin the infusion of more education, Kelsey Elam, also a Magnolia FFA advisor, began brainstorming and organizing more in-depth activities for the children. She then met with Columbia County Fair Association President Sonya Caldwell and began asking if educational stations and demonstrations could be set up throughout the kids’ regular tours. To her delight, the fair executive was more than open to the ideas.
This year, the booths became a reality. With over 1,000 area students set to walk through the animal show barn this week, they will all be shown short demonstrations of mock cow milking, sheep shearing, and animal feeding.
For the milking demonstration, a small, punctured dish glove in the shape of an utter is filled with water, then a Magnolia FFA member aids any child who wants in “milking” the cow. For the sheering demo, balls of cotton are attached to a small platform, and children must hand “sheer” the “sheep.” And for feeding the pigs, a small swine cutout is placed for the kids to toss “food” into their mouths.
“We just want to educate kids on why agriculture is important,” said Elam. “Many of them have never even been around anything like this before.”
The highlight of the week, though, came Wednesday, when the second annual special education pig show took place. Elam had seen the idea online from another state and thought it could be just one more way to involve a group of students in an event that they may never again have the opportunity to be a part of.
With over 60 special education students partaking this week and hundreds more pre-school, kindergarten, and first-graders touring through the show arena as spectators, the show has become one of the most anticipated events for FFA organizers on the week.
In the show, FFA members tag along with a special needs student, while he or she guides a show pig through the pen, just as they would in a regular livestock competition. Some are timid at first. Some are shy at first. And some may be a little cautious walking just inches away from a prized adult pig. But once the initial jitters wear off, the students begin to fall into the experience wholeheartedly.
“This is everyone’s favorite event now,” added Elam. “It’s a very humbling experience for our kids.”
Fullenwider, who is heavily involved with FFA’s animal shows, echoed similar sentiments and said the event puts life experiences in perspective for many of his students.
“We kind of got lucky,” he said, “but it’s probably one of the most successful and passionate things that our kids have ever done. The [special needs] kids have challenges every day, and not one of them ever complained about anything. It makes some of the things our kids fuss about look kind of silly.”
Blue ribbons are handed out to each special education student after the show and one handler is highlighted from each small, five-person group. The ages of students range all the way through high school.
With two years already under their belt, the local FFA chapter has no plans of slowing down its fair week activities. With a small amount of hands-on education to go with the annual animal tour and show, all involved see it as something to be proud of.
“It’s been pretty incredible over the past few days,” said Elam. “Seeing the kids learn about the animals and getting to participate in an actual show –- that’s pretty great to witness.”