ADRIAN — One of the main goals of the Lenawee County Fair, and perhaps most fairs in the area, is to provide guests with an environment that is exciting and fun, but also influenced by an agricultural mindset.
Some of this agricultural education was presented and expanded during this year’s show in the new Ag Education Tent.
Throughout the fair week, July 21-27, children of all ages and their families were able to participate in hands-on activities and interactive programs in the Ag Education Tent.
Today, the Daily Telegram concludes its coverage and special reports on the 2024 fair.
The tent featured baby animals such as pigs, goats and lambs where children and families could learn about the animals’ growth stages. There was also a farm-themed playground for young children to play. Daily educational programs revolved around agriculture, and perhaps the highlight of the Agriculture Education Tent was a playground where goats could romp and play.
Each of these programs in the education tent was made possible by hard-working volunteers, especially Palmyra couple Jerry and Tammy Pape.
This year’s version of the Ag Education Tent is an update of what has been used at past fairs, Jerry Pape said.
“In the past we have had baby animals, but this year I added the idea of the playground and goat park where the goats can come out of the goat pen and move around. It was a great entertainment for the crowd and was a great success,” he said.
The focus of the playground and the entertainment provided by the goats is education.
“My goal was to introduce the kids to farming in an educational way,” Pape said. “It’s an attempt to show them what farming is really like.”
Families with younger children have been very complimentary about the Ag Education Tent expansion, the Papes said. All day and night of the fair week, the tent was full of children and families, “which warmed my heart tremendously,” Jerry said.
“We were here from sunrise to sunset,” Tammy added on Friday evening of fair week, July 26.
Not only were the baby animals an exciting aspect of the tent, but also the few live demonstrations, including a sheep shearing demonstration, the making of soap from milk and a program about bees/honey.
“I hope to get more (demonstrations) after this week,” Jerry said.
The Ag Education Tent will return to the 2025 Lenawee County Fair with even more enhancements, the Papes said.
“I think we’ve found our spot,” Tammy said, adding that some parents stayed in the tent with their children for more than two hours at a time. There were requests for more seating areas for parents and possibly a food stand or two nearby.
More: The Dairy Arena at the Lenawee County Fair was well attended with live animal shows and entertaining events
The farming tent also serves as entertainment for small children who are too small to ride on the rides.
The Papes tried to incorporate some of the things you would expect to find on a farm, such as a calf pen, which is used when raising calves. Corn boxes – like a sandbox – were filled with corn kernels donated to the fair by Michigan Agricultural Commodities (MAC). The corn boxes allowed the children to shovel and collect the kernels, but they were also able to mimic the workings of a grain elevator.
“There’s a bowl that’s right side up, and there’s a tube that comes out the bottom that fits one of the legs of the grain elevator. The kids put the corn in the top and it comes out the side,” Jerry described. “It’s fun to watch because (the kids) fill some (toy) trucks with (the corn). It shows them what it’s like to work in the mill.”
Jerry and Tammy have three children, now 30, 27 and 25, who have been active in 4-H their entire lives.
“We’ve been at this fair forever,” he said. “I’ve been here since I was four years old and I’m 57. We’ve been here a long time.”
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Tammy said she was never a 4-H member until she married Jerry.
“She was thrown into it and now it’s in her blood,” he said.
Tammy said she did her part to make the Ag Education Tent expansion possible, but much of the credit goes to her husband.
“He spent all winter, spring and half the summer making this happen,” she said of his efforts.
The Papes’ goal/dream is to build a permanent teaching barn on the exhibition grounds instead of the tent. The goal will then also be agricultural training.
“Everyone needs to know where everything comes from,” said Jerry.
— Contact reporter Brad Heineman at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: twitter.com/LenaweeHeineman.
