BEFORE March 1 – 4-H project change deadline

• Add any 4-H projects to your 4-H enrollment in 4-H Online by March 1 so you are eligible to submit entries for those 4-H projects at the Waukesha County Fair. 

BEFORE June 15 – Fair entries must be completed online by June 15

• Make sure you have entered your fair entries on the Fair website (http://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/entry-info)
  BY the June 15 deadline to participate in the Fair.
  • By the way, adults can enter at the fair – visit the links under Open Class at http://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/entry-info; contact the Fair Office for more information about adult entry, not the 4-H office.
• Doing your online entry:
  • List your project entries – for department and entry number, check the Fair Book, see Department categories under the Junior Class on the Fair’s webpage at http://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/entry-info.
• Order your fair tickets & parking at a discount – 4-H members, leaders, and parents can order discounted tickets on the fair card.

Monday & Tuesday before Fair – Face-to-face judging

• Held in the Arena Building on the Waukesha County Fairgrounds
• To find out when your project is judged, read the Fair Judging Schedule on the Fair webpage.

Wednesday–Sunday of Fair – Waukesha County Fair

• Find special events on the fairgrounds by checking out the daily fair schedule at https://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/.
• Visit the Youth in Action Stage in the Arena Building for drama, music, dance and demonstrations put on by 4-H members. 
• View Youth, Open, and Senior Class entries in the Arena Building.
• Visit the barns and show ring for competitions and judging.

Sunday of Fair – Fair project release 7:15-9 pm in all classes

• Bring your claim checks and pick up your fair exhibits in the Arena Building.
• Exhibits must be picked up between 7:15-9 pm on Sunday. Exhibits not picked up during this time will forfeit all premiums. These exhibits must then be picked up from the Fair Office between the Thursday following fair and August 1. Any items not picked up by August 1 become property of the Waukesha County Fair.

Unless you go on the Waukesha County Fair’s website and entered your 4-H projects as Fair Entries, you’re not showing at the Fair. The deadline is June 15 – so don’t forget!!!

You’ve made the commitment to 4-H and it’s time to add the Fair piece to your 4-H experience.

Preparing Projects for Fair

Once you have determined what projects you plan to enter at Fair, it is time to actually make your projects and get them ready for Fair!

Make sure to finish project as specified in the fair rules, if applicable – correct size, correct way to hang, correct number of items, etc.

Now that you have signed up for the projects you want to enter, it is time to make them

Have fun making your projects – learn new techniques and skills, be creative, do your best work.

Try not to wait until the last day to finish your projects. You might run out of time to finish (i.e. glue/paint must be dry). Also, if you come across any problems, you might need some time to fix it or find the right materials to finish your project.

Make sure to follow all applicable rules from your department’s class and entry number or the judge can lower your placing.

If you complete a 4-H Record Book, keep track of cost of project, hours spent, tools and materials used as well as new skills learned so you can fill out these sections of your 4-H Project Record Sheet.

Once you have completed your projects, it is time to get them ready to enter at the fair

Attach the matching entry tag where specified in the rules for your project.

Keep the claim check that is found on the bottom of each entry tag – you will need it to pick up your projects when projects are released at 7:15 pm the Sunday of Fair.

Pick up a judging number, wait at the judging station for your turn, meet with the judge, and repeat for each project.

As you may have already noticed, 4-H has a bit of a language all it’s own and unfortunately, so does the Fair. So before we go any farther, we’ll define some of the common words/phrases.

• Fair Book – contains the information (rules, entry descriptions, premium amounts, etc.) necessary for entering at the Waukesha County Fair. Everyone has access to the online version (http://www.waukeshacountyfair.com/entry-info); the specific information for entering 4-H projects is found under the Junior Class section on this webpage. 
• Fair Entry – a 4-H project that you show at the Waukesha County Fair.
• Fair Tag – 4-H members receive a fair tag for each Fair Entry they registered on the Waukesha County Fair’s website. This tag lists such information as the exhibitor’s name, age, city, and 4-H club as well as the department, class, and entry number of the exhibit. The appropriate fair tag must be attached to each exhibit (check the Fair Book for the specific location/method of attaching the fair tag for each exhibit) entered at Fair.
• Claim Check – Each fair tag has a claim check on the bottom of the tag. Remove the claim check and keep it. You will need to bring all your claim checks to the project release, the Sunday evening (7:15-9 pm) of Fair in the Arena Building, in order to pick up your exhibits.
• Face-to-face Judging – 4-H members sit down one-on-one with a judge and explain their exhibits and answer questions. This is held in the 4-H Forum on the Waukesha County Fairgrounds the Monday & Tuesday afternoon before Fair.
• Premium – The monetary award each exhibit receives. This is based on the ranking (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) the judge awards. The amount of premiums can be found in the Fair Book; the amounts vary across categories. Exhibits must be picked up during the project release the Sunday evening (7-9 pm) of Fair to be eligible to receive the premium.
• Fair Check – After Fair, each exhibitor will receive one fair check for the total amount of premiums which that exhibitor won at the Fair.