Next month the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agency in Haralson County will host the first ever Haralson County 4-H Fun Day at the Callaway Livestock Pavilion in Buchanan Oct. 24.

The event will feature a pancake breakfast, a tractor ride, a cake walk, a chicken swap, a chicken project show, a chicken auction, a record book contest and concessions throughout the day to benefit the approximately 200 active members of 4-H in Haralson County.

County Extension Agent Keena Hardin says the idea started with just an event or two but grew into something much larger once plans began to take shape.

“Lee Cox, our BB Club volunteer and coach, came up with the tractor ride idea,” Hardin says. “Last year the kids went to Carrollton for their Chicken Project Show, and we had so many [of them] order chickens this year we decided to try and have one here. Then we kept adding to it, and it evolved into one big day.”

There will be several fundraisers taking place that day, and each will help a different program sponsored by 4-H, a completely non-profit organization.

The pancake breakfast, which begins at 6:30 a.m. and lasts until 9:30 a.m., will sponsor the five judging events held each year by 4-H. These events require students to learn in-depth content based on the animal or subject they will be judging, including poultry, horses, dairy cows, livestock and Cotton Boll and Consumer Science. Each judging requires 4-H members to absorb comprehensive information and then use analysis and critical thinking skills as they complete their tasks and judging.

“In all the judging events, the kids have to take a content test, identify the best product and then give their reasoning for why they placed it where they did in their judging,” Hardin said. “These kids put a lot of effort into these judging activities. That’s why we’re doing this fundraiser: they work so hard, and we want to be able to send them to these events without the parents having to worry about paying.”

Hardin says the Fun Day pancake breakfast will also help support the 4-H Project Achievement, Junior Project Achievement and Senior 4-H member’s trip to Rock Eagle. Project Achievement is a competition between fifth and sixth grade Cloverleaf members who pick a topic to give a 5-minute, illustrated presentation to a panel of judges.

“They do anything from public speaking, performing arts and animals to sports and history and everything in between,” Hardin said.

Junior Project Achievement is a competition for seventh and eighth graders in which students are assigned a muffin to prepare in front of a group of judges, who then taste the muffins and grade the students on the muffin as well as their execution of technique, organization, food safety and hygiene.

Of course, once a year the Senior 4-H members, which is made up ninth through twelfth graders, go to Rock Eagle in Eatonton, Ga., for the weekend. Rock Eagle is adjacent to the Oconee National Forest and provides 1,428 acres of land on which 4-H groups can hold activities and meetings.

However, these events aren’t the only ones that will benefit from Fun Day activities. The 4-H Club Project S.A.F.E. BB Team will host and benefit from the tractor ride at 1 a.m.

“The BB Team is a group of 4-H members that shoot competitively, but before they can compete they must learn safety skills and take a safety test,” Hardin said.

Hardin says the BB Team, under the direction of Cox and Danny Prather, competes in area events, which can allow them to qualify for state competitions.

The tractor ride will take a circuitous 20-mile route through the county, and prizes will be given to tractor riders, though the categories have not yet been determined. Anyone wishing to participate in the ride with their tractor is welcome to sign up. Line up is at 11 a.m.

Most of the rest of the day will be devoted to chickens, chickens and more chickens as the Chicken Project Show gets under way at 10 a.m.

“In April, 4-H students were given the opportunity to purchase 10 chickens each through the Extension Office,” Hardin said. “They then choose their three best chickens to bring to the show.”

The students bring their chickens to compete in egg laying, and the students themselves compete in a Record Book Contest for who has kept the most detailed and organized records about their chickens since they began caring for them back in April.

In addition to this, there will be both a chicken swap at 7 a.m. and a chicken auction at the end of the day, both of which are open to the public. However, despite all this fun to be had on Fun Day, Hardin says it truly is a learning experience for 4-H members.

“It teaches them responsibility, manners and how to work with others.”

Anyone interested in participating in or donating their time to the tractor ride, the cake walk, concession stand, chicken auction, chicken swap or any of the other Fun Day events can call Hardin at the Extension Office, 770-646-2026.