4-H Spring Carnival set for this Saturday at county fairgrounds

This week, from March 14 to 19, is National Ag Week. As the country celebrates agriculture and its role in everyday life, the Cheyenne County 4-H will be capping the week with its annual 4-H Spring Carnival, a tradition stretching back for decades in Sidney.

"It's been going on for longer than I know," Cheyenne County UNL Extension Educator Cynthia Gill said.

Gill said the annual carnival is the primary fundraiser for the 4-H council, funding county 4-H activities and programs throughout the year.

"It's a major, major deal and attracts a lot of people every year," she said.

During the spring carnival, each of the 10 4-H clubs in Cheyenne County are responsible for creating a booth in the style of one found at a penny carnival.

"We have a cake walk," Gill said. "I know we have a pillow fight, which is always one of the favorite booths from year to year, and there's going to be some target shooting and other things. Clubs can get pretty creative."

Gill said while the clubs pretty much have free reign on the type of booth they will operate during the carnival, they coordinate so there will not be any duplicates.

"So they have a bit of urgency in picking their booth early," she said. "That way, they get to do what they want."

Gill said she tries to get as many 4-Hers as possible involved with the carnival. She said they will set up their booth at the fairgrounds after school the evening before the event.

The spring carnival also includes a meal, which in past years have included items such as taco salads, sloppy joes and homemade pies. While the meal is a separate charge, Gill said they are sold per item.

As for the carnival itself, booths operate on a ticket system where attendees can purchase 10 tickets for one dollar to use towards games.

"Most booths cost two or three tickets," Gill said. "We try to keep it an inexpensive event, so bring the whole family and have a fun night out."

The carnival will also feature a raffle featuring prizes donated by the community and local businesses. The price for each raffle ticket is $1.

"A variety of items, ranging from dog food to gift certificates," Gill said.

Raffle donations can be made by bringing the item to the Cheyenne County Extension Office, located at 920 Jackson St. in Sidney, or by contacting Chel McMillen at 308-254-0398.

The tickets are made available from county 4-Hers, with the top sellers winning $25 for first place, $20 for second place and $15 for third place. Gill said the raffle will start early into the carnival and continue throughout the event.

"We'll post (the winners) there, and we usually try to call people if they're not there," she said.

To advertise the event, county 4-Hers created posters that will be displayed around Sidney throughout the week. Following the theme "4-H Grows Here," students used their creativity to design posters that were both informative and eye-grabbing.

The posters were judged early last week, with the top three entries in original and computer-generated winning $5, $3 and $2 prizes respectively.

The annual 4-H Spring Carnival will be at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds in Sidney, from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

For more information on the event, contact the Cheyenne County Extension Office at (308) 254-4455.

4-H Spring Carnival poster contest winners

Original Design

1. Toni Hiett

2. Rhegan Devier

3. Deanna Horst

Computer-generated design

1. Jaxson Benish

2. Matthias Beyer

3. Spencer Rolls