4-H hosts annual Family Fun Night Saturday
(Courtesy photo) A 4-H member gets a lesson in archery.
(Courtesy photo) A 4-H member takes part in a fashion review during the 2017 Bonner County Fair.
(Courtesy photo) A 4-H member shows off her sheep.
(Courtesy photo) Sammy Russell shows her steer during the 2017 Bonner County Fair.
SANDPOINT — Looking for something fun to do?
The window to enroll in Bonner County 4-H begins Friday, Oct. 6, and will remain open until Feb. 1, 2018.
4-H is the youth development program of our nation’s Cooperative Extension System and USDA, and serves every county in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities and more than 3,000 local Extension offices. Attend the 4-H Family Fun Night on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Bonner County Fairgrounds to meet the 4-H clubs in Bonner County and learn more about the 4-H program. Family Fun Night will begin at 6 p.m. in the Main Exhibit Building and will include an ice cream social, cake walk, games and door prizes.
Contrary to popular belief, the 4-H program is not just for rural youth — 4-H is for everyone. Project options do include large animal projects like the horse project and also include raising a large livestock animal — beef, swine, sheep or goat. But there are also small animal projects like cat, dog, rabbit, poultry, pocket pets and pygmy goats. There are also over 50 non-animal projects that include forestry, gardening, geology, sewing, cooking, baking, Dutch oven cooking, survival, hiking/backpacking, cross-country skiing, woodworking, art, photography, scrapbooking, vet science, motorcycles and shooting sports that include archery, rifle and pistol. The 4-H program has something for everyone including a non-competitive Cloverbud program for children ages 5 to 7. Youth ages 8-18 may participate in competitive projects, which they exhibit at the Bonner County Fair.
4-H youth also have opportunities to achieve self-confidence and leadership skills by participating as a club officer or presenting an illustrated talk at the annual Demonstration Day. Being rewarded with a ribbon or top award for an outstanding project, inspires self-confidence and a sense of pride and achievement. The 4-H experience results in young people who are skilled at public speaking and have the confidence to achieve their goals as they start college or begin careers.
Please contact Suzanne Sawyer, 4-H program coordinator, at the Bonner County Extension Office at 208-263-8511 for more information. You can enroll online at https://idaho.4honline.com.