4 H delegate attends annual Electric Congress

A delegate from Alleghany 4-H attended the annual 4-H Electric Congress, July 13-15 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Two hundred twenty 4-H'ers, adult leaders and Cooperative Extension Agents from 59 counties attended the three-day event. Since 1947, Progress Energy, Duke Energy and Dominion North Carolina Power have sponsored the annual congress to emphasize energy conservation and safe electricity use. The 4-H electric energy program is one of the most popular activities among Tar Heel 4-H'ers. The 4-H program is conducted by North Carolina Cooperative Extension at North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T State Universities. More than 239,000 young people between the ages of 5 and 19 participate in North Carolina 4-H activities each year with the help of 23,000 adult and youth volunteers. Pictured from left are Amy Lucas, 4-H Agent - Alleghany County, James Hall, 15, son of Al and Bonnie Hall of Sparta and Wayne Huddleston, business relations manager, agricultural market, Duke Energy.

Open Youth Horse Show

The first Open Youth Horse Show of 2009 will be held on Saturday, July 25th. The gates will open at 7:30 a.m. and Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. Click here for the Show Program which lists all the classes for the day. The cost to participate in the show is $3 per class or $15 to show all day. Friday night (July 24th) there will be a show pre-registration as well as an open ring from 7 - 8:30 pm.

Alleghany County Fair

The 22nd Annual Alleghany County Agricultural Fair will be August 22-29, 2009. Click here for more information about the fair. There is a complete Schedule of Events, as well as Rules and Entry forms for the Demolition Derby, Livestock Shows and the Exhbibition Building.

We hope to see you and your family at the fair!

Youth Poultry Club Meeting

The Youth Poultry Club will meet on Thursday, July 23 at 6pm at the Stoneman House. The meeting is open to all youth between the ages of 5 and 18. Come out and learn about different breeds of poultry and how to care, raise and show them. Ryan Higgins will be the guest speaker at this meeting. He will discuss disease prevention and control.


For more information contact Steven Stoneman at 336-200-3799.

Blog Candy!

We have passed the 4000 hit mark on our blog, so it is time for some Blog Candy!!! What is blog candy you ask? Blog candy is a small package of goodies that a lucky winner will receive. This is a small Thank You for visiting the Alleghany 4-H Blog.

If you would like a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment in the comments section of this post. The winning post will then be randomly selected. The deadline for entering is Tuesday, July 14th.

Good Luck!

Specialty Camp Spots Still Available

Still want to go to camp this summer??? Then don't miss out on these 3 'funtastic' opportunities at the Eastern 4-H Center!! All three camps are the week of July 19th.

Cloverbud Camp - The perfect first "stay away" from home for 5-8 year olds. Jam packed full of adventure. Canoeing, kayaking, swimming, games and fun evening activities. Cost $250.00

Marine Science and Sailing Camp - The beautiful Albemarle Sound serves as the backdrop for this amazing camp. Sailing in the sound is instructed by an experienced sailor. Cost $425

Camp Canvasback - In partnership with the NC Waterfowl Association, this camp encourages and educates young hunters on waterfowl conservation. Campers participate in activities that help them understand waterfowl biology, wetland ecology, hunting techniques, and other conservation practices. Cost ONLY $150

For more information on any of these camps contact:
Sara Lilley Phelps, Marketing Director (252) 797-4800, Email: sara_phelps@ncsu.edu

For full information on any of the camps click HERE.

Swannanoa 4-H Camp

There are a few spots still available for Swannanoa 4-H Camp. Please contact us if you are interested in attending.

Who: Youth ages 8-16
When: June 21-26th
Cost: $295 (Scholarships may be available)


Travel with us just outside of Asheville, NC to the residential camp in the foothills of the Great Craggy Mountains. There are tons of activities and adventures. Traditional Camp (ages 8-10) – great sample of all major camp activities, including archery, swimming, low ropes, climbing tower & more! Adventure Camp (ages 11-12) – main camp activities + overnight camping, more challenging adventure activities and zipline! Trekker Camp (ages 13-15) - Hiking, camping, high ropes and rock climbing. Not for the faint of heart! Leader in Training (LIT) (ages 15-16) – Learn tons of leadership skills and enjoy exciting group activities.

Chef & Child

There are still spaces available for our Chef & Child Summer Fun activity. Please contact us if you are interested in taking part in this great learning experience.

June 8-12 ~ 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Ages: 8-12
Cost: FREE ~ Limit: 15


Do you like to cook? Come out and join us for a week-long series where you will learn about nutrition, safety and food preparation. We will also visit a local grocery store and restaurant for a behind-the-scenes tour. We will meet at the Alleghany County High School Family & Consumer Education Classroom. Space is limited and preference will be given to youth who have not participated previously.
Registration deadline is Wednesday, June 3rd.

West Central Distrist Activity Day

It's still not too late to get in on WC District Activity Day!!!

When - June 24, 2009

Where - Catawba County

Location – We had a change in location and we will have District Activity Day at Grandview Middle School. The school is located at 451 Catawba Valley Blvd SE in Hickory. If you are somewhat familiar with hickory, the school is located near Valley Hills mall. We just confirmed this location last week after an unexpected problem with the school we had previously planned to use.

Food Prep. Area – The school we are using has limited food preparation area. I think we will have 2 food prep. rooms but they each only have one stove and limited refrigerators available (one small refrigerator). Please warn any 4-H’ers doing food presentations to plan appropriately. I am sorry, but the last minute change limited our options of schools.

Parking – Since this is a middle school, parking spaces are limited. Please encourage your families to carpool or maybe ride the Extension van, if you bringing one.

Cloverbud Presentations – I hope everyone is aware that we are allowing cloverbuds to attend District Activity Day and give their presentations. Another district has tried this as a way to encourage and build some future presenters and we have received approval to allow it to be part of the WC district event this year. I hope it will be a positive experience for your younger 4-H’ers.

We can send up to 4 cloverbud 4-H presentations. These presentations should be no longer than 5 minutes and they may be on any topic, but no live animals. There will be 2 rooms for cloverbud presentations and I plan to put 5-6 year olds in one room and 7-8 in another room. They will receive ribbons for participation and these will be presented in the room immediately after the child gives their presentation.

The judges in these room will be some kid-friendly adults that have experience working with younger children and there will also be some older 4-H teens that have been presentation participants.

Lunch – Lunch will be $5 and will be choice of a grilled hamburger or hotdog plate. Lunch is provided by our cattleman’s association.

If you are interested in partipating, please contact the Extension Office by Monday, June 10.

State 4-H Junior Youth Dairy Day

Date: Monday June 22, 2009
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rowan County Fairgrounds, Salisbury, NC
Ages: Youth ages 5 to 13

Overview: This is the second year for this event that is designed to educate youth ages 5 to 13 about the animal and food aspects of the North Carolina dairy industry and to spark their interest in 4-H dairy youth activities. Youth will attend various "hands on" 30 minute workshops to learn about the following topics:
- our North Carolina dairy industry
- modern milk production
- basic veterinary care of dairy animals
- dairy foods and nutrition
- make butter and smoothies
- make ice cream

There is no charge to participate in our NC Junior Youth Dairy Day. This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (NC PDCA).

Lunch will be provided.

If you are interested in registering for this event, please contact the Extension Office at (336) 372-5597 by Monday, June 8th.