Black Hawk County 4-H is proud to offer SIX challenge classes to the public for the 2017 year! The following classes are open for area community members to enter: Fairy Garden Challenge, Thumbprint Cookie Challenge, Place Setting for One Challenge, “Churches of Iowa” Photography Challenge, Emoji Challenge, and Repurposed Challenge!
The Black Hawk County Fair is at the National Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo. All challenge class entries (except the Thumbprint Cookie challenge) should be taken to Estel Hall on July 25 from 11:00 AM- 4:00 PM. The cookie challenge should be delivered to Pepsi Pavilion.
Regulations for challenge class entries are few. No registration is required, but we do limit one entry per challenge per person.
Divisions for challenge classes are Youth Class 1 (K-6th Grade), Youth Class 2 (7-12th Grade) and Open (Adult). Awards will be given to the winner of each division and a “Judge’s Favorite” award will be given for the entire challenge.
Challenge class entries should be labeled with the name of the exhibitor and division.
Entries can be retrieved from the fairgrounds Saturday, July 29, after 8:00 PM. Additionally, challenge projects can be picked up from the fair grounds on July 30 from 10:00 AM-Noon. Challenge projects that are left at the fairgrounds will not be held for alter pick up.
Complete regulations are suggestions for challenge projects can be found on the Black Hawk County Extension and Outreach webpage. You can find short class descriptions below:
Fairy Garden Challenge
Create a miniature garden for fairy visitors out of old pots and pans, a watering can, or your favorite object! Using rakes, moss, magic and more make a garden home for your garden fairies. Miniature gardens can be any size or scale and should include live plants and at least one “Fairy” figurine.
Thumbprint Cookie Challenge
Create your own version of this popular holiday cookie. There is no set base recipe for this challenge. Cookies should be exhibited on a paper plate in a sealed gallon-sized bag with 8 cookies per plate. The recipe MUST be included for the entry to be judged.
Place Setting for One Challenge
Choose a theme or event and create a place setting for it! A table will be provided for each entry. Come prepared and have each piece of the exhibit labeled! Judging for this challenge will be at 5:30 PM on July 25th. Extra points may be awarded for participants sharing their exhibit and dressing with their theme!
“Churches of Iowa” Photography Challenge
Find the best angle of a church or building of worship in your neighborhood! Photographs can be of the entire building your favorite aspect of the building such as a door or window. The photo must be at least 5×7” and no larger than 11×14” and matted in black to be judged. Please contact the building of your choice to gain permission to enter or photograph the building. This project area has no affiliation with religion, simply photograph your favorite architectural aspects of the building.
Emoji Challenge
Create something out of Emoji texting characters! Entries may be sewn, painted, or more! Be creative!
Repurposed for My Home Challenge
Garage sale season is upon us!!! Find a one-of-a-kind item and create a useful or decorative piece. Exhibits must be created from a garage sale or consignment store item. Less than 25% of your project should be new items. Please include a purpose statement with the project. For example “I transformed these pickle jars into kitchen canisters using paint, labels, and door knobs”.
Green Lessons to Living a Full Life 