As many as 10,000 people are expected to attend the 41st Annual 4-H Nova Scotia Provincial Show at the South Shore Exhibition grounds in Bridgewater from Sept. 28 to 30, where the “best of the best” from Nova Scotia 4-H youth will be showcased.
Hosted by the 4-H South Shore Region (Lunenburg, Queens and Shelburne counties), this is the third time Bridgewater has hosted the show, which is the only one of its kind in Canada. “Nova Scotia is the only province that has a provincial show like this,” said Corrine Zinck, one of the volunteers on the organizing committee. “We have been meeting now for about a year getting everything put together. We’re getting down to getting the grounds ready, putting sawdust in the stalls, getting the rings in good condition for horse usage, getting PR [public relations] ready, like road signs, banners, welcome messages from businesses. We’re right in the middle of all that work now.”
The show is open to the public and admission is free. The event features life skills projects, livestock competitions, a fashion show, floral arranging competitions, dog obedience and handling trials, tug-of-war and the very popular market auction for lamb, steer and turkey.
“Of course, you have horses from minis to donkeys, light horse (Western and English), draft horse, just about everything is represented,” said Zinck. “There will be all kinds of competition going on. It’s a jammed-packed, three-day program. The whole exhibition grounds and facilities will all be in use.”
The 4-H Council of Nova Scotia and the Department of Agriculture has also been supporting the organizing committee, said member Judy Wile. Hosting the 4-H Provincial Show is a “big responsibility, but a very important showcase of the youth of our province and what they have been doing back home in their communities with their leaders,” she said. “You have the best from the province coming. Each county sends their best top project members.”
For 4-H dairy and beef livestock members, the Provincial Show offers an opportunity to advance to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in November. “For those livestock members, they’re very keen in getting selected to go there, where there is competition with Ontario,” said Zinck. “They can also go in the big classes if they have a very good heifer or steer and that can help their family name in breeding programs back home. It’s very prestigious if they get a chance to be selected by the judges.”
It is expected the Provincial Show will have an economic spinoff of $750,000 (food, lodging, gas, shopping, visiting local attractions) for the area, said Zinck, adding all hotels and accommodations in Bridgewater and surrounding areas (Liverpool, Chester, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg) are fully booked and all campsites at the Exhibition grounds have been reserved.
For more than 100 years, 4-H has been one of the most highly respected youth organizations in Canada. 4-H has been in Nova Scotia since 1922. The mandate of the 4-H program is to advance the 4-H program in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, to strengthen communities by providing life and technical skills to 4-H members, leaders and parents; to develop leadership and life skills in Nova Scotia youth, to encourage the education of the public about the 4-H program and to promote 4-H. Participating in the 4-H program promotes leadership, encourage the care and responsibility of resources and builds positive life skills to secure a sustainable future for Nova Scotia. For more information about 4-H Canada, visit 4-h-canada.ca/about.
