Dressed as a chocolate bar, a golden ticket, and Mike Teavee, respectively, all three waited (mostly) patiently for the final part of the Youth Dairy Show: the costume class.
Next to these entrants — who, by the way, were a Jersey heifer, a Holstein calf and a Jersey calf — stood their human partners: Piper Simoneau, 11, Leah Ray Brown, 10, and John Jenkins, Jr., 7. They're members of the Over the Moon 4-H Club. All three prepared special clothes, Piper and Leah in purple suits, John Jr. in big sunglasses, so they could match their cows. Because for them, the cows are the point.
"I've loved cows my whole life," Leah said. "I just took that and showed, so I can be with the cows more."
Piper not only likes walking and training cows, but caring for them, too. She helps out at her mom's friend's barn, where Smalls the heifer is from.
"I scraped their pens and helped milk, and I helped bottle feed the calves," Piper said.
Looking forward, the 4-H'ers said they want to keep improving their show skills and get to larger competitions, such as the Big E. In the meantime, showing cows at their local fair is not only building those skills, but sharing them with fellow youth who might want to join 4-H, too.
Under livestock superintendent, longtime 4-H volunteer and newly-hired 4-H Essex and Orleans Counties Educator Kellie Jenkins, the Orleans County Fair welcomes to its livestock shows both 4-H'ers and non-4-H'ers. Jenkins said this is a way to introduce more Vermonters to the program, which prepares youth to be ready for work and life.
For example: One youth named Celia Goss, who is not in 4-H, got to try out being a dairy show judge for the costume class. Shortly before that, a parent walked up to Jenkins in the show ring, and asked what age kids needed to be to sign up.
"I've got two additional — potentially three additional — clubs that are going to be starting," Jenkins said. "Handfuls of kids in each of those clubs are interested in a variety of things, from crafting, baking, robotics, dairy cattle, goats, sheep."
As a result, the youth who join 4-H get the chance to pursue their passions.
Marissa Simoneau, who is the mother of 4-H'er Piper Simoneau, said ever since her daughter joined the Over the Moon 4-H club two years ago, she's been able to embrace her love of animals.
"She tells me faithfully every year that she wants to be a farmer," Marissa Simoneau said. "We don't have a lot of land and a farm, so it's given her the opportunity to live a different lifestyle."
She also said Piper has had the chance to grow through 4-H activities.
"It's gotten her out of her comfort zone a lot, between showing the animals and being in front of crowds of people," Marissa Simoneau said.
All three costume class participants at the Orleans County Fair qualified for the Big E this weekend, where they'll present their action exhibit, titled "Snailed It." The exhibit demonstrates how to make a "seed snail."
"We cut up a grain bag, we laid it out, we put dirt on, we put the seeds in, we rolled it up and we planted it in the garden," Piper Simoneau said. "Our goal was to teach people how to garden easier, an alternative way."
More Big E-eligible exhibits were on display at the Orleans County Fair. As fairgoers viewed the exhibits, they told Jenkins, the 4-H County Educator, how they see those activities rippling outward.
"A lot of adults are noticing that there's a lot of youth down here," Jenkins said. "They can see there's so much helpful participation, sportsmanship, helping each other."
Jenkins' mom, Michelle Faust, who was also at the fair, said she sees the efforts of her daughter and 4-H creating meaningful activities for families, and something bigger, too.
"People say, 'Well, I remember when the fair was like this.' To get back there — it takes community to get back there," Faust said. "It's a slow process, but as long as people keep supporting the process, and keep supporting forward movement, and provide grace and patience, I think in a few years, you're going to see things here really blossoming."
