Geneva Perry, left, and Johnny Perry, right, show off their Nubian goat, Mocha, at the Washington County Fair Friday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

MARIETTA — The Washington County Fair kicks off Saturday and runs through Tuesday at the fairgrounds in Marietta.

On Friday, competitors from across the region brought their animals in to show at the fair.

Animal showing is a tradition among the competitors. The Bohlin family competes every year, and their history dates back three generations, according to Kurt Bohlin. Bohlin and his children Emmy, Kas and Camden are all presenting their animals for show at this year’s fair.

“My dad (competed) years ago,” Bohlin said. “We just enjoy the fair. It’s more or less a vacation of course. The kids learn a lot doing their projects and they do most of the work, we help a little bit. It’s a good time and the kids learn a lot of responsibility.”

According to their father, the Bohlin children are involved in the 4-H programs and are showing their shorthorn cows in the beef breeding and dairy categories. According to both Camden and Kas their favorite part of going to the fair is the opportunity to show their animals. They also, however, enjoy the rides.

Camden Bohlin helps his shorthorn cow settle in before weigh-ins at the Washington County Fair Friday. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

“My favorite ride’s the pirate ship or the Viking ship,” said Kas.

Camden had his favorite, “I like the big slide.”

Geneva Perry and her family readied their cows and goat for weigh-in. Geneva and her sons are participating for the first time as a family.

“I started showing when I was 3,” Perry said. “I kind of took a break from it, now that I have kids I’m trying to get back into it and get them used to it so they would enjoy 4-H.”

Perry said she hopes that her children can grow comfortable around the animals and that this helps them build confidence in handling them.

“Animals have their own minds, their own ways of thinking,” Perry said, “We don’t know what that is because we can’t communicate with them other than talking at them and being calm. That’s just kind of been the thing, my kids can be around them and I’m not scared of them getting hurt because they know how to handle them.”

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com