Charlie: Hi there, Charlie here. Communications Manager for Cornell Cooperative Extension and this is my little pet project 'Good Work, New York!' a podcast where we're talking about all the good work that happens here in Rockland, the Hudson Valley, and all of New York State. Today I have with me miss Kristin. Say hello!

Kristin: Hello!

Charlie: Miss Kristin, who are you?

Kristin: I'm the 4-h resource educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland County.

Charlie: That's great, so earlier you and I were talking about the State Now I know all there is to know about the State Fair - so you don't have to tell me, but for all the people out there who might associate State Fair with say, I don't know, Blue Ribbon award winning pies only, could you tell them more about the State Fair?

Kristin: Sure so the State Fair is a 13-day event that typically happens at the end of August through Labor Day, and it features a bunch of different things. It has animal shows. It has agricultural exhibits. It also has entertainment and rides. It's a lot of fun.

Charlie: That's great, now we sent some of our 4-H'ers up there to do a presentation?

Kristin: Yes, so in March we had a county level public presentation. Youth did some research, and they presented on a variety of topics, and then at the State Fair they had a State Fair Invitational for 4-H members. We had two of our youth who went up to give their presentations for a moving audience, and also for some of their family members.

Charlie: That's great, that sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Now a few weeks ago you had me help do some judging for projects that we sent up. What kind of projects do 4-H'ers send to State Faire?

Kristin: Yeah, so Rockland County we had youth who did some watercolor paintings, a research paper, and also some photography and exhibits. Basically you can do anything at the State Fair there's things from engineering to the traditional baking and sewing. Also animal shows.

Charlie: That's great, that sounds like a lot! Now what do the 4-H'ers get out of doing these presentations and projects?

Kristin: So it's a great opportunity to receive recognition for the great work that they've done. It's also a great way for them to increase their communication skills with the public, and also to just to show the the general public what 4-h is and the great work that we're doing.

Charlie: Great, and now I'm sure you also get to see all the other 4-H'ers' projects from across the state and find out different things that you might be interested in.

Kristin: Definitely there's a lot of inspiration to be had at the State Fair. There's so many projects that you wouldn't even think about like digital programs to research projects and community service projects that you can learn about. It's a great opportunity.

Charlie: That does sound like a really wonderful opportunity for our 4-H'ers. And now how do 4-H'ers go to State Fair? What's the process?

Kristin: Yeah, so first you've typically choose projects that they do throughout the year and they can choose any sort of exhibits or projects that they've been working on to be evaluated at the county level and then potentially at the state level. Basically they can bring their projects to the County where they're evaluated based off of the Danish style of judging which is based off of a standard for their experience and for their age. The evaluators, they look at you know what they've done well but they also give them suggestions for improvement because we really want to help them to develop their skills to continue on to the project. And so then once they get up to State Fair, a new set of evaluators will evaluate them at a higher level and then again and offer more feedback for them.

Charlie: That's great so now for the next year because this Faire happens every year do the 4-H'ers choose new topics or do they develop their project further for the next round?

Kristin: Right, so 4-H is really about to make the best better. So we really encourage youth to stay with the same project, but to increase their experience levels. So you know from a presentation standpoint they might do something very simple in beginning but then increasingly develop the complexity so that they have this really amazing skill set in the future. But we do want them to experience new activities as well, so that's why they're trying different things and then seeing what they like.

Charlie: That's great, now aside from the 4-H component, what else happens fair?

Kristin: There's a lot! It's a really fun opportunity. So the Safe Fair is really a showcase of New York State, so there's agriculture. There's history. There's also things like the birthing center, which is a really fun one. Those cows are giving birth on a daily basis, and they have people there to explain them. They're seal shows. There's entertainment. Last year they had Big & Rich and A Boogie wit da Hoodie, which is a lot of fun. So there's definitely a lot of opportunities there.

Charlie: That's great, it sounds like there are so many different things you can do up there. I just want to know is it something that's costly?

Kristin: Not at all! If you're a 4-H member, you can actually get free daily passes to go up there, and parking and then we also have a dorm - which is two dollars a night, right above the youth building. So it's a lot of fun, and it's not that expensive. Even for the general public, the entry fees are not that expensive, and there's a lot of free things to do at the fair.

Charlie: That's great, it sounds like a wonderful opportunity to sample a little bit of all different aspects of New York State culture, and to have a good time with your family and the good news is it's not over right? It's going through the second?

Kristin: Yep so it always goes through Labor Day. You still have time to enjoy last bit of summer.

Charlie: So if you don't have plans for this weekend you, should head up to the Great New York State Fair, and see all the different exhibits from 4-H and all the different animal shows, and the concerts and sample all the different food that they have from the vendors, and just have a great time. And I want to thank miss Kristen for coming on and being my guest and telling us all about the State Fair. And we'll be back next week with another episode of 'Good Work, New York!' and that's some good work New York! Bye!