15-year-old Collin Lewis poses with his Boer goat Smeagol at the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase on Wednesday. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

MINERAL WELLS — Exhibitors were excited to show off their livestock and projects that they have spent months putting together during the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase. The showcase takes place from July 15-19 at the Wood County 4-H Camp in Mineral Wells.

The exhibitions are open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 3-9 p.m. where event goers can walk through all the barn stalls and see award-winning rabbits, cows, goats and other livestock animals.

Leilani Navarro said she has been showcasing livestock with Wood County 4-H since she was nine-years-old. She is now an incoming college freshman who will study psychology at Marietta College. She said that raising livestock taught her how to be responsible by caring for her animals.

“You’re responsible for a whole animal that you have to feed and have to water…it’s not just like taking care of a cat or dog. You have to work a little bit to build their muscle,” Navarro said. “It teaches you about budgeting a little bit and getting stuff you need.”

Navarro said that selling her livestock helped her pay for her first semester at Marietta College, her laptop for school and part of a car payment. She also said that businesses and companies in the Mid-Ohio Valley are very involved with the showcase and buy livestock to support Wood County 4-H and FFA.

18-year-old Leilani Navarro shows off her award-winning lamb Mona at the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase on Wednesday. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

“It definitely helps when businesses come to support and buy animals,” Navarro said.

Collin Lewis is a 15-year-old who is showcasing multiple animals this week, including his goat, Smeagol. He said he has been showing livestock for eight years, and he enjoys being involved in the showcase.

‘This is the highlight of my year,” Lewis said. “We age out at 21, and I’m going to go until 21.”

After high school, Lewis said he wants to go to technical school to become an HVAC technician.

The 4-H and FFA members that raise livestock work diligently for months to raise their animals to meet the requirements to be in the showcase. This includes feeding their animals multiple times a day, walking each animal to exercise them and taking other measures to make sure they are healthy.

WVU Extension Youth Nutritionist Sara Dunn talks to kids at Produce Kids Market on Tuesday during the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase. (Photo Provided)

“I know that a lot of the kids work nightly in the barn until late at night, working with their animals,” said Wood County 4-H Program Coordinator Lindsey Boso. “Just within a few weeks, you can see a large difference with how they’ve progressed.”

Boso has been with Wood County 4-H for 11 years. She said that the most rewarding part of her job is “seeing the kids smile and learn,” and she enjoys supporting and getting to know each kid involved in 4-H.

According to Boso, Wood County 4-H meets monthly starting in September to come up with the events and schedule for the next year’s showcase. Boso also said that there are 109 livestock exhibitors and over 60 still project exhibitors this year.

Event goers can also view the open exhibits created by 4-H members on the second floor of the pavilion. These exhibits range from sewing and quilting projects, to woodworking, to specific self-determined projects. Wood County 4-H has also expanded their exhibition categories recently to include visual art and photography, which are displayed on the back wall.

Besides the exhibitions, 4-H members can get involved with the Kid’s Business Market on Tuesday and Friday, where they make their own crafts to sell as “vendors.”

Audrey Kent washes her cow outside the cow stalls at the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase on Wednesday. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

Throughout the week, there are also several activities for the kids to participate in, such as tie-dying, slime-making and a Bicycle Rodeo, where they will navigate an obstacle course and take part in a speed test and bike part test. Also, WVU Extension and River Hawk Farm partnered to put together a Produce Kids Market on Tuesday, where kids received $4 in free produce of their choosing.

At the showcase on Thursday, there will be a rabbit show at 9 a.m. in the show barn, a beef show at 6 p.m. in the show barn and kids crafts and STEM activities taking place in the dining hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Friday, there will be a horse show at 8:30 a.m. in the horse arena, followed by inflatables, peddle tractor pulls at 2 p.m. and the kid’s business market from 3-5 p.m. There will also be entertainment in the evening from Austin Shawver Master Showman,

The Old Timers Show and Brandon Scott, and the night will end with fireworks at 10 p.m.

The showcase festivities will end on Saturday with the 4-H and FFA Livestock Awards at 11 a.m., livestock sale at 12 p.m. and project checkouts.

Two cows nuzzle each other in the cow stalls at the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Wednesday. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

Food vendors will be on site every day during the showcase and include Hangry’s, Jimmy Avocados, DiPaulo’s Pizza, Jodi’s Carnival Treats, Zul’s Lemonade, Rhododendron Ice Cream and Sycamore Sweets.

Admission is $3 per day at the gate. To check out a full schedule of the showcase and updates, you can visit the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase Facebook page.

If you or your child are interested in becoming involved with Wood County 4-H, you can call Wood County 4-H Program Director Lindsey Boso at 304-424-1960.

Matty Lamp can be reached at intern@newsandsentinel.com.

Children participate in Wednesday afternoon’s Bicycle Rodeo at the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase. (Photo Provided)

Sophia Burgess sells her bookmarks and magnets at the Kids Business Market on Tuesday during the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase. (Photo Provided)

Wood County 4-H expanded creative activities during the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase to showcase static exhibitions that include visual art and photography. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

19-year-old Brayden Keeney’s project explains historical sewing equipment and patterns during the Wood County 4-H and FFA Summer Showcase. (Photo by Matty Lamp)

These two miniature cross-stitched pieces were created by Debbie Gilbert. (Photo by Matty Lamp)