What is 70 years old and for four days provides space for a variety of animals from small chickens to full grown beef cattle; shades booths for school and church groups selling afternoon treats and barbecue dinners; organizes two or three mornings for 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) young folks to show their animals in an orderly and fair manner?
It’s the Healdsburg Future Farmer Country Fair and its opening day parade consumes most of the downtown this evening.
It will not be the first time it rains on the parade, if it rains on the parade and as I type this story it is raining all over the place.
Cool weather is easier for the animals than extreme heat and the fair has also had its share of exceedingly warm days when particularly the hogs need to get cooled down or their lives are in danger from heat stroke. (That’s why hogs delight in mud holes — as prevention for sun burn. )
Rabbits as well have a tougher time in excessively hot days and require cooling down by settling next to a plastic bottle containing frozen water or having some wet burlap placed over their cage.
The care that all these animals need is provided by many youngsters representing their different 4-H clubs and high school FFA.
For those who have never participated in either of these programs it needs to be clarified that 4-H members can start in grammar school and continue through high school while FFA is only for students in high school. This is why there is a greater proportion of exhibitors and competitors from 4-H than FFA.
Although the animals, close up and personal in their pens at the fair grounds, are the most popular gathering to visit, there is at the other end of the green field a large tented area which displays the photography, floral design, sewing and cooking talents of our young community members.
It is impressive to walk through and take time to admire their individual work.
Nostalgia creeps in to many of the hearts and minds of Healdsburg’s residents who have been here through decades of fairs and generations of participants.
Looking over the list of fair board volunteers one finds many, many parents who themselves grew up showing pigs, rabbits, sheep, horses and dealing with the frustration and unpredictability of a hog’s dislike of another hog, or a bunny not wanting to be set on its back and investigated.
It keeps bringing back memories of how the same activities go on at the same time that people move on. Some are gone forever while others return. The fair is a place you notice both realities.
If you’re a newcomer to our community and think of your town as a destination for wine tasters, a downtown that caters to beautiful clothing stores and expensive furniture, you should set aside a few hours to come to your town’s fair.
The schedule of events was in the paper as an insert and you will find something of interest somewhere or everywhere.
My favorite animal resides in the miniature goat stall. If I didn’t already have two sheep I’d put a couple of those little characters in my backyard. I love looking at them!
My favorite event is the cake auction on Friday evening. It’s astounding what beautiful creative as well as traditional baked desserts bring out in people when two opposing entities want the same item.
And, if sugar isn’t your thing, the planted wine barrels are a lovely addition to a garden and each 4-H club as well as the FFA creates a barrel for the auction. If you’re lucky to win a planted wine barrel, you can pick it up the next morning and a forklift will carefully place it onto the bed of a pickup truck.
I can vouch for it all working out. You just have to have the pickup truck. (I bet even that part can be arranged by a 4-H-er or FFA-er who has a driver’s license.)
So, grab a jacket and a blanket to sit on the metal bleachers and watch the animals being shown Friday and Saturday morning; stroll the green and check out the art and craft displays.
In other words, become acquainted with the agricultural side of Healdsburg, celebrating the town it, too, calls home.
Renee Kiff weeds and writes at her family farm in Alexander Valley.
