August

• August 10: Champaign & Vermilion County 4-H Project Day at the Illinois State Fair
• August 15: Deadline to register for 4-H Shooting Sports events
• August 26-27: State 4-H Dog Show @ Dog Training Club of C-U

September

• September 1: 2017-2018 4-H Year Begins!
• September 3: Deadline to register for 4-H Road Trip for Teens @ U of I
• September 4: Champaign & Vermilion County Extension Offices Closed for Labor Day
• September 8: Deadline to submit Champaign County 4-H Awards & Records
• September 13: Deadline to submit Vermilion County 4-H Awards & Records
• September 22-24: Family Camp at 4-H Memorial Camp
• September 23: 4-H Road Trip for Teens @ U of I

October

• October 1-7: National 4-H Week

November

• November 3: Danville Area Community College Family Science Night

4-H Staff would like to take a moment to thank all of our 4-H members, families, and volunteers for making the 2017 Fair Season such a success! We appreciate all of the time and effort each and everyone one of you puts into the 4-H program. The goal is for our 4-H members to have a positive experience through leadership, citizenship, and learning life skills through hands on project work. We were very pleased with the quality of work exhibited by our 4-H members at the fairs this year! Thank you to the leaders and parents for helping our youth learn by doing and excel as 4-H members.

Sincerely,

Champaign and Vermilion County 4-H Staff

It’s always exciting to see our 4-H members in the community sharing their knowledge about their 4-H projects! We were scanning the newspaper and found Vermilion County 4-H member Wyatt DeAth and Southern Vermilion County Cloverbud members Lily and Lucy DeAth selling their sweet corn at the farmers’ market. Good luck at State Fair! Click here to read the article about Sharing the Bounty at the Danville Farmers’ Market in the Commercial-News.

4-H exhibitor guides, exhibit guidelines, exhibit tags, and maps have been mailed to Champaign and Vermilion County 4-H members exhibiting general projects at the Illinois State Fair. Champaign County information was mailed this week so if you do not receive it by early next week, please contact the Extension Office at 217.333.7672. Good luck to all of our exhibitors!

The 2017 State 4-H Poultry Judging Contest will be held Thursday August 10 at the Illinois State Fair in Building 105 immediately following the Junior Poultry show. Registration is at 1:30 p.m. in building 105 with the contest starting shortly after. Contact your Extension Office for more details.

The Illinois 4-H State Dog Show will be held Saturday, August 26 & Sunday, August 27 at the Dog Training Club of Champaign. The club is located at 2210 E. Ford Harris Road, Urbana.

Obedience classes will be held on Saturday, with check in beginning at 8 a.m. Showmanship classes will be held on Sunday. The show is open to the public, but contestants must be 4-H members who received a “qualifying score” in their county show.

Read more @ https://4h.extension.illinois.edu/programs/animal-sciences/dogs.

The 4-H year is ending so it is time to finish your 4-H Record Books and apply for awards. Information about Champaign and Vermilion County 4-H award applications, nominations, record books, and club records was mailed out this week to 4-H leaders. All of the applications are on our websites. Look in the important dates section of the e-news for deadlines!

• Click here to access Champaign County Awards & Records
• Click here to access Vermilion County Awards and Records
  

September 23, 2017 @ University of Illinois

Come hang out with 4-H members from across the state in a NEW event to kick off the NEW 4-H year. Save September 23 and plan to arrive by 10 a.m. on the University of Illinois campus. Get an inside look at U of I. Discover new things you can do in 4-H. Start your adventure today! $10 cost includes lunch, t-shirt, and goodie bag. Road Trip is open to 4-H members age 13-18. Tell your friends and go ‘road trippin’ with a few hundred of 4-H members around the state.

Register @go.illinois.edu/4Hroadtrip. Cost is $10 by September 3.

Enjoy a weekend family camping trip without the prep or mess! Come experience rock climbing, zip lining, archery, fishing, campfires, crafts, cardboard boat racing, and other fun activities. 

At least one youth attending must be 8 to 16 years old, and children must be accompanied by at least one parent or guardian. The fee for participants 8 years and up is $75/person, while those 4-7 years old are only $35/person. Plan to arrive anytime from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, September 22. Camp runs through 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 24. Late arrivals will be accepted from 8-10 a.m. Saturday.

Details can be found @ https://4h.extension.illinois.edu/programs/camping/family-camp

It’s like no other 4-H competition. Take aim and compete in the Illinois 4-H Shooting Sports State Shoots. Three days, three events. 4-H youth may participate in one, two or all three contests. Registration closes August 15.

Contest Dates:

• Archery: September 9 at the Panther Creek Bowhunters Club, Chatham. Cost $25. Register online only @ go.illinois.edu/4Harchery
• Shotgun: September 16 at the Brittany Shooting Park, Bunker Hill. Cost $50. Register online only @ go.illinois.edu/4Hshotgun
• Rifle: September 30 at the Central Illinois Precision Shooters (CIPS), Bloomington. Cost $30. Register online only @ go.illinois.edu/4Hrifle

Requirements:

• Minimum Age: Youth must be at least 14 years of age by January 1, 2018 to compete.
• Maximum Age: Youth must be no older than 18 on September 1, 2017 to participate.
• To be selected for the National Competition team, youth must not turn 19 before January 1, 2018. Thus, youth in their final year of 4-H who turn 19 in September, October, November, or December 2017 may participate in the state contest but cannot be selected for the national contest.
• Participants must be enrolled members of a verified 4-H Shooting Sports Club for the 2017-18 4-H year.

We live in Champaign and have backyard chickens. Unfortunately, one of our 10-week-old chicks has turned out to be a rooster.  Because Champaign does not allow roosters, we have to re-home him. He is a very beautiful Easter Egger. I think we have several weeks before he will start crowing but we do not want to get too close to the wire on that. For more info, please contact Rebecca or Chad at 217.721.1289.

If you’re a leader and will be at the Illinois State Fair, stop by the Volunteer Booth in the Orr Building early in the day. We have a special 4-H Leader Button for you to wear while you’re at the fair. We are proud of you and want everyone at the fair to know how special you are! Volunteers celebrating 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and more years of service will be recognized during a short Clover Celebration beginning at 3:00 p.m. each day on the stage of the Orr Building. Be sure to check in at the booth and let us know you’re there!

Join the Illinois 4-H Foundation as it honors the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame Class of 2017 and the Illinois 4-H Family Spirit Award winners. Joann O'Connor, Champaign County, and Cheryl Brumett, Vermilion County will be recognized for their dedication to the 4-H program. The celebration begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Orr Building on the State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The Foundation asks everyone who plans to attend to register online @ http://go.aces.illinois.edu/4hcelebration.

We are proud to provide free t-shirts to all NEW members of the Illinois 4-H Alumni Association during the 2017 Illinois State Fair. Register as a 4-H alum at the Illinois 4-H Foundation booth in the Orr Building during any 4-H General Project Show exhibit day and receive a lifetime membership to the Association. Think back to your 4-H days and be prepared to share a favorite memory.