‘One big family’: Berrien County Youth Fair a success for community

RRIEN SPRINGS — The Berrien County Youth Fairgrounds were put to good use this week.

The Berrien County Youth Fair will say goodbye to this year’s festivities after Saturday’s  Bullmania grandstand event at 7 p.m. Fair president Corey Burks has been pleased with the results. From the crowd-pleasing grandstand events to the anticipated animal shows, Burks expects more than 120,000 guests will have experienced the fair this week.

“That says a lot,” he said. “That’s a lot of people coming to the community of Berrien Springs and Oronoko Township here but also there are a lot of cars from out of state that come up and visit our fair and Berrien County as a whole. They are getting a good impact from this event every year in August.”

Burks said he comes away impressed with the work of the youth participants every year and that this year has been no different.

“Seeing the exhibitors and the smiles on their faces and the families walking around here that are visiting us makes the fair experience for me,” he said. “When those people come out, they can have a better education on what it takes to raise animals or to raise fruits and vegetables and all the way to how to make clothing… It really is an educational piece for those people that don’t typically have that opportunity to do those things. It’s really nice for the exhibitors that are showing to be able to walk and talk through the processes they have to go through for all of the exhibits.”

From his days participating in 4-H as a youth to volunteering as an adult, Burks has been involved with nearly every aspect of the fair. For Burks, the fair functions as a family reunion of sorts.

“You walk around this place and you can’t go anywhere without meeting somebody or seeing somebody that you haven’t seen in a while,” Burks said. “That’s what keeps me coming back. This place is just one big family.”

Saturday fair schedule:

Noon – Elvis (Mall Stage); Baked Fruit Pie Contest Awards Presentation (Home Ec, Building); Overall Large Animal Showmanship Sweepstakes (Show Arena)

2 p.m. – Red Arrow (Mail Stage)

2:30 p.m. – Ag-Olympics (Show Arena)

4 p.m. – Judging of Equine; PEP Exhibitors, Riding and Showmanship Classes (Equine Complex)

5 p.m. – Larry Johnson (Mall Stage)

5:45 p.m. – Parade of Champions (Ends in Show Arena)

7 p.m. – Bullmania (Grandstand)

8 p.m. – Harbor Town (Mall Stage)

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