Art, craft exhibits at fair help young people to get creative

Hannah Milford, 13, has been entering crafts in the Columbia County Fall Fair since she was in the fourth grade.

//

She earned $26 in prize money last year, and the Harlem Middle School eighth-grader has several items ready for this year's fair, which opens Nov. 5.

"I like seeing it on display," Hannah said. "Also, I like winning the prizes and stuff."

All entries for the fair must be taken to the Columbia County Fairgrounds on Columbia Road from 1:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Hannah, an active member of 4-H and volunteer on entry acceptance day, said she took a summer sewing class and plans to enter a pair of pants and a pillowcase she made there along with her other projects.

The annual arts exhibit is sponsored by the Columbia County Extension Office and 4-H Club. All youth exhibits will be awarded a ribbon, with first-, second- and third-place entries receiving small monetary awards. Best in Class and Best in Show monetary awards and ribbons also will be awarded.

"It gets bigger and bigger every year," said Shirley Williamson, the University of Georgia Service 4-H coordinator. "We had over 1,000 entries last year, with most of those entries coming from the third- through fifth-grade age group."

This year, there are 55 categories, which include homemade clothing, photography, painting, drawing, ceramics and holiday decor. Entries will be posted in one of four age groups: pre-K to second grades, third through fifth grades, sixth through eighth grades and ninth through 12th grades.

"I would hope that people come to look at the youth exhibits to appreciate and take in what young people are doing today," Williamson said.

She particularly enjoys watching the students looking for and finding their artwork in the large, and often very full, display case.

"I'm amazed at the variety and the quality that comes in," she said.

Each fair entry must be tagged. Williamson suggests that for those with more than 10 entries, picking up tags in advance and completing them before arriving at the fairgrounds will make for a smoother drop-off. Tags are at the county extension office at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

Information regarding the categories can be found at the Columbia County Extension Service Web site at uga extension.com/columbia. Williamson can be reached at the extension office at (706) 868-3413.