Note from our Office

Dear Calumet County 4-H,

It's officially Fair Month, and I know August is going to go by in the blink of an eye!

There is tons of information and opportunities below that can benefit everyone:

Food Stand Shift Coordinators - We are looking for adults willing to lead as a Food Stand Coordinator for this year's Fair Food Stand.

NEW Calumet County 4-H Fair Information Book - compiled information to help our new and seasoned families prepare for the fair and judging.

2025-2026 Foods Workshop Registration - Hands-on project learning for any youth enrolled in Foods & Nutrition or Cake Decorating.

Festival of Fun Registration - Hands-on project day, to help youth explore a current project or to try out a new one.

WI 4-H Project Guide - Designed to help youth, families, and volunteers identify sparks and explore those project areas. The newly defined project area categories will allow youth to explore a wide range of interests within each project, find more resources, and connect to learning opportunities.

Back to School Event - Calumet County 4-H is collaborating to put on an event for familes of the 127th Batalian. Our role is to provide hands-on 4-H stations to help families learn more about what 4-H is all about!

Need help before then? Reach out to our office — we’re here for you! I can be reached on my work cell at 920-483-0646 or by email at carlea.liermann@wisc.edu.

Sincerely,

Carlea Liermann

Tuesday, August 5 - 6:00pm - ChickQuest at Calumet County Courthouse, Room 017

Tuesday, August 5 - 6:00pm - Dog Project Training at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Tuesday, August 12 - Advanced Cake Decorating Day Camp at Chilton HS Foods Lab

Tuesday, August 12 - 6:00pm - Dog Project Training at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Wednesday, August 13 - 6:00pm - Archery Project Training at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Wednesday, August 13 - 7:00pm Leaders Council Board Meeting at Courthouse, Room 017

Thursday, August 14 - 11:00am - Dog Show Set-Up in H&G Building at Fairgrounds

Thursday, August 14 - 6:30pm - 4-H Plant & Soil Science Fair Workshop - Courthouse, Rm 025

Thursday, August 14 - 6:30pm - Teen Ambassadors at Courthouse, Room 020

Saturday, August 16 - 8am-12pm - Poultry Blood Testing at Lamers' Farm

Sunday, August 17 - 11:00am - 4-H Dog Show at H&G Building at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Monday, August 18 - 5:00pm - Clean Brantmeier Building

Monday, August 18 - 6:30pm-Tips & Tricks of Showing Birds with Heidi Beyer, Brown County's Poultry Superintendent, at Sherwood Community Center Parking Lot - Open to All - Bring a chair

Tuesday, August 19 - 7:00pm - Market Animal Pen Set-up (mandatory) at Harder/Goeldi Building at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Wednesday, August 20 - 6:00pm - Archery Project Training at Calumet County Fairgrounds

Thursday, August 21 - Cloverbud Club - Group A at 5:30pm; Group B at 6:00pm - Fairgrounds

Thusday, August 21 - Explorers Club - 6pm - Fairgrounds

Friday, August 22 - Annual Financial Reports Due to 4-H Office

Saturday, August 23 - Advanced Judging 9:00am-2:00pm - Fairgrounds

Thursday, August 28 - 3:00-8:00pm - Foods & Soil Science Judging - Fairgrounds

Friday, August 29 - Monday, September 1st - Calumet County Fair

Friday, August 29 - 5:00pm - 4-H Foods Auction - Family Entertainment Tent at Calumet County Fair

Monday, September 1st - Enrollment Opens for 2025-2026 4-H Year

Wednesday, September 10 - 6:00pm - Non-animal Fair Wrap-Up Meeting - Courthouse, Rm 017

Wednesday, September 10 - 7:00pm - Leaders Council Annual Meeting - Courthouse, Rm 025

Friday September 19 - Festival of Fun Registration Due

Tueday, September 23 - 7:00pm - Market Animal Wrap-up Meeting - Courthouse, Rm 025

Saturday, September 27 - 9:00am-1:00pm - Pie Foods Workshop - Chilton High School

SUNDAY IS FUN DAY at the Fair! 4-H clubs are encouraged to wear their club t-shirts on Sunday of the Fair. This is a great way to promote our club and to be recognized for your participation in the Calumet County 4-H program. Take a photo or a “group selfie” at the fair of your club members and share it on the Calumet County Fair Facebook page or Instagram.

Carlea will be walking around the fairgrounds, and if she sees you wearing your 4-H shirt, you will receive a ticket to be entered into a drawing for some prizes, or I may just hand out some cool 4-H swag and shirts. Let’s show our 4-H spirit!

Poultry Blood Testing

Poultry Blood Testing will take place on Saturday, August 16th, from 8:00am-12:00pm at the Lamers' farm, located at N8444 Rosner Rd, Hilbert, WI 54129. Everyone that is getting their birds tested will need to bring their premise ID number. Cost for testing will be $1.00 per bird.

Looking for Food Stand Shift Coordinators

We are currently looking for Shift Coordinators for the food stand during the fair. These are paid positions.The Food Stand Shift Coordinators assist the manager to ensure the successful operation of the food stand. They help inventory supplies being used and are restocked and help keep all counters and food areas clean throughout their shift.

Each day there are two shifts the Food Stand Shift Coordinators are needed: 10am-4pm and 4-10pm. Coordinators receive $100/shift.

If you have any questions, reach out to Food Stand Manager, Troy Jansen - 920-378-6391.

Calumet County 4-H Fair Information Book

To better assist all of our 4-H families, new and seasoned, we put all the needed informatoin together in a NEW Fair Information Book! Take a look to find things like the judging schedule, details for the 4-H booth exhibits, how to prepare for face-to-face judging, and how to sign up to participate in this year's Goosechase contest.

Also, there will be some chances to win this design in a t-shirt? The winning Goosechase team will all receive t-shirts AND there will be some other fun contests and giveaways throughtout the Calumet County Fair!

To see the 4-H Fair Info Book go here.

Dog Project

All is welcome to come and watch the Calumet County 4-H Dog Show that will be held on Sunday, August 17th, at 11:00am in the H&G Building at the Calumet County Fairgrounds in Chilton. We will also be holding our annual Bake Sale during the show.

All of our 4-H members and their dogs have been working so hard this summer and would like to see you there supporting them. They will be showing their dogs in the disciplines of rally, obedience, and showmanship.

NEW 4-H Project Guide

Picking projects is the exciting first step 4-H youth take in their annual 4-H membership journey. And it just got easier! We’re excited to share four brand-new resources to help 4-H members find their sparks — the interests that bring them joy, energy and purpose.

The resources are:
1. A fresh Project Guide that groups projects into seven streamlined categories. The new categories not only give youth ideas for exploring each project area, but also conveniently match up with most county fair exhibit categories. There’s even a key in the back that shows how the new project areas line up with the previous ones. And a new Sparks Roadmap that helps youth find projects that align with their interests!

2. Three quick videos that give you a tour of the simple changes to the new 4-H Project Guide. That way you can easily explore your sparks and the many exciting projects that help you develop them!

3. A Quick Guide for families who — not to brag — already know their way around a 4-H Project Guide. And it’s less to print!

4. Projects and County Fairs Guide that helps you connect projects with fair entry categories. Adult leaders can share it with fair partners. Easy peasy!

Have your best 4-H year ever with these new Project Guides!

Enrollment 2025-2026

Enrollment will open again Thursday, September 4th, for those wishing to re-enroll again, or to join as first-time members. As a reminder for returning members, the deadline is December 31st, 2025, and for new members the deadline will be April 30th, 2026.

This year there are a lot of changes being made to 4-H Online between volunteer trainings being consolidated into just one annual training and the projects list being revised from over 230 projects to just 91. You will see more on these projects in the new project guide above!

Registration is open for 2025-2026 Food Workshops

Since Fall 2022, we have been serving up something extra tasty—monthly Food Workshops where youth roll up their sleeves and dig into hands-on kitchen fun! From baking festive Christmas cookies to whipping up picture-perfect pumpkin pies, and even mastering fancy French macarons with our County Administrator—our 4-H chefs are cooking with passion. And guess what? Foods & Nutrition has officially become our #1 project area in Calumet County!

Why the food focus? Our annual Foods Auction at the Calumet County Fair! It works like the animal auction—youth earn a portion of the proceeds, but to participate, they need to attend at least one food workshop. In order for youth to be eligible to sell in the live auction, exhibitors are required to attend at least one educational Foods & Nutrition related meeting throughout the 4-H year. This could include a session coordinated by Calumet County 4-H or a meeting/event that is approved by the Extension office ahead of time. Participation in an educational event sponsored for youth such as 4-H or FFA events, workshops put on in other counties, or classes put on by a culinary business qualify to replace a “county-sponsored” event. Classes that are part of the normal school day will not count towards the requirement. The main scope of the educational event must be related to foods & nutrition.

Food Workshops are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Complete and return the registration form (one per youth) with payment, make all checks payable to Calumet County 4-H and can be mailed to 206 Court Street, Chilton, WI 53014. More detailed information will be sent out after registration and payment have been received prior to the workshop taking place.

This year's offerings and registration form can be found here.

Festival of Fun

Calumet County 4-H Festival of Fun is the biggest project learning event of the 4-H year—and a great example of youth and adults coming together to learn, grow, and have fun the 4-H way!

This exciting day has three main goals:
1. Help members, leaders, and parents learn something new—either by exploring a current project or trying out a brand-new one.
2. Encourage participants to share what they’ve learned with their club or project group.
3. Promote teamwork by having youth and adults work side-by-side.

It’s a day full of discovery, collaboration, and the true spirit of 4-H!

WHO:                    4-H Members and non-4-H members in grades 5K-8th
WHERE: Calumet County Courthouse
WHEN:                 Saturday, October 11th
COST:                    $10.00 per 4-H member or $15.00 per non-member, includes 3 session workshop fee and snack
   (The remaining Festival of Fun cost is supported by the 4-H Leaders’ Council and donations.)

REGISTER BY:     Friday, September 19th

Festival of Fun Registration can be found here.

Help Share about 4-H!

Would you like to spend the afternoon helping to share more about 4-H while making a difference?
We are collaborating to put on a Back-to-School Event specifically for those families who have a parent or guardian deployed as part of the 127th. Not only are we handing out school supplies to these families, but we are providing some fun, hands-on opportunities for them as well.
We will be starting a 4-H Military Club in Fall, and this is helping us share more with these families on the opportunities available to them.

Join us on Sunday, August 24th at 1:30-4pm at the STEM Innovation Center in Green Bay. The more volunteers we have help us that day, the more different hands-on stations we will be able to set up to display more project areas.

Reach out to Carlea if you're interested at carlea.liermann@wisc.edu!

Nominations are due October 9th
Friend of 4-H - Award given each year to a business or an individual (NOT a 4-H leader) that has been a strong supporter of the 4-H program.

Special Leadership Award - Two to three awards are given each year to 4-H volunteers who have made significant contributions to the 4-H program at a club or county level over the course of their 4-H career.

4-H Volunteer of the Year - One award is given per year to a 4-H volunteer who has made significant contributions of time and effort to the 4-H program during the recent year(s). This award is for individuals with less than 10 years of service at the local, county, district, or state level.

Lifetime Volunteer of the Year - One award is given per year to a 4-H volunteer who has made significant contributions of time and effort to the 4-H program during their volunteer career. This award is for individuals with 10 or more years of service at the local, county, district, or state level.
Please nominate individuals with an explanation of why you think they are deserving of the awards by contacting Lori Weber at lori.weber@calumetcounty.org. If you do not know if a volunteer has more than 10 years or less than 10 years of service, please nominate them for both awards and we will place them in the correct category.

WI 4-H Art Camp

🎨 What is Arts Camp?
Arts Camp is a creative and welcoming space to experiment with artistic sparks and self-expression. From the morning of Saturday, October 4, through noon on Sunday, October 5, at Upham Woods, 4-H'ers in incoming grades 6-8 get to try out:

-Drawing
-Painting
-Theater
-Dance
-Music
-Photography

You’ll also enjoy exciting camp activities like a Makerspace, campfire fun, color group competitions, and more!

🧑‍🎨 Youth Leadership Opportunities
If you’re in grades 9–12, you can apply to be an Arts Camp Counselor or Track Leader! This is a great way to grow your leadership skills while sharing your love for the arts. The Youth Leadership Planning Weekend will be held August 22-24 at Upham Woods.
💵 Camper Registration & Tiered Pricing
We’re introducing a new tiered pricing model to make Arts Camp accessible for all families. Choose the option that best fits your budget:
$125
$150
$175
All campers receive the same amazing experience, regardless of the amount paid. The actual cost of camp is around $150, but your support helps us keep this opportunity open to all youth and sustain future programming.

Adult chaperones are also needed! The registration fee for chaperones is $75, which helps cover food and lodging. If you’re interested in chaperoning, please reach out—we’d love to have you on board!

📝 How to Register
Register by August 29 at:
👉 https://25wi4hartscamp.4honline.com
🎓 Scholarships Available

We believe every 4-H’er should have the chance to attend Arts Camp. Scholarships are available through both county and state programs. Check with your County Educator for local support first. State scholarship applications are included in the 4-H Online registration.

💚 See You Soon
We can’t wait to see you at Arts Camp this fall—get ready for a weekend full of creativity, connections, and fun!

Save the Dates!

National 4-H Week will be here before you know it, so we want to share some dates with you so you can mark them on your calendar! More information will be provided in the October newsletter.

4-H Window Display or School Exhibits

Make plans to put up a display this year for National 4-H Week, October 6-12. In fact, you should be able to use your booth from the County Fair for props for the display. Contact the 4-H Office by October 3rd with the location and hours your display is available to the public.

Be sure to include flyers or signs about who to contact for more information about your club. Include an invitation to join you for a meeting! First place $25; second place $20; all other participants $15!

4-H Booth

Does your 4-H Club put a booth together for the Calumet County Fair? If so, here is this year's theme!

The fair booth size is 5’ wide by 4’ deep by 8’ high. Some have an electrical outlet. Remember: each club wishing to reserve a booth must submit a fair entry by the July 31st deadline.
Important: No staples will be allowed.
PLEASE REMEMBER: 4-H booths are a youth entry, so ONLY 4-H members, not parents or leaders, should be putting the booth in place. We ask for all clubs’ cooperation on this guideline, to make it a youth-center learning experience.
Please see the Fairbook (Department 032) for a list of criteria that the booth will be evaluated on.

Booths may be put up on Monday, August 25th, 6-8pm or Tuesday, August 26-Wenesday, August 27 8am-8pm.

Archery Project Meetings

Youth enrolled in the archery project are invited to participate in project meetings this summer. Dates are as follows: August 13, August 20

Practice will be held at the Calumet County Fairgrounds, at the south parking lot area, starting at 6:00 pm. There is a $10 participation fee that will be collected at the first practice, and permission slips will be available then as well.

Questions can be directed to Tim Mueller, 920-371-5439, poohnhopper@yahoo.com, or to the Extension office.

Carlea Liermann Lori Weber Jayna Hintz
4-H Educator Administrative Assistant Area 12 Extension Director
carlea.liermann@wisc.edu lori.weber@calumetcounty.org jayna.hintz@wisc.edu
920-849-1450 (office) 920-849-1450 option "0" 920-418-0251 (cell)

https://calumet.extension.wisc.edu/4-h-youth-development/

An EEO/AA employer, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IV, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requirements.

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