Tours offered for first time at fair

By Kristen Tribe | Published Wednesday, March 28, 2012 in the Wise County Messenger

Every year school groups flock to the Wise County Youth Fair so students can see farm animals up-close. In the past, teachers were left to herd their students up and down the barn aisles alone, but this year, tour guides will greet the big, yellow buses.
4-H Program Assistant Andrea Calabretta organized the program and trained 4-H, FFA and FCCLA members to guide tours.
“They’ll talk about fun facts and the jobs these animals have after they leave the fair ground,” she said. “It’s a backstage pass to the fair grounds.”
Groups will see the animals in the barns, and they’ll also walk through the Women’s Building where the 4-H and FCCLA baking, craft and photography entries are displayed.
“It’s a great way for the youth to explain what they do,” she said. “They get to say this is why I do it, and it’s great for younger youth to get excited about it and want to be that kid who is showing that pig or that brought in that cake.”
Calabretta, who also owns her own agriculture education business, has organized tours for several fairs, and she brought that expertise to this project.
The tours are designed for daycare through fifth grade students, but Calabretta said any group is welcome to participate. Tour guides have been trained so that they know something about every animal and project on the grounds.
Tours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, except Wednesday, and each tour lasts about 45 minutes.
Teachers can call the Extension Service office at (940) 627-3341 to sign up for a tour.