There was a sense of melancholy as organizers cleaned up after the last Hereford Junior Farm Fair ever to be held at Hereford High School.
 
Yet there was also a sense of excitement because there are two possible locations for next year’s annual fair.

Members of the fair committee will visit Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center on Rayville Road in Parkton this week. They are also considering a move to the Baltimore County Ag Center, currently under construction on Shawan Road in Hunt Valley.

Tom LaMonica, who founded Genesee Valley, toured the 64th annual fair on Aug. 8 for a first-hand look at the small fair that offers children a chance to show off their animals and exhibits of handmade desserts, homegrown fruits, flowers and vegetables, photography and flowers.

“We’re avid supporters of the high school and the community, so we’d love to host the fair next year,” LaMonica said. “They’re going to come out and do a feasibility study. We hope we can make it all work.”

The last fair held at the high school drew a good crowd of both spectators and exhibitors.

Howard and Pat Butz, of Parkton, had never been to the fair, but came to watch after hearing it was the last at the school.

“We came for the finale,” Pat Butz said.

Howard Butz was impressed with the number of children tending to their cows, sheep and pigs.

“It’s encouraging to see so many young kids working so hard,” he said. “They look like they’re having fun,
too.”

Ruthie Miller, of White Hall, handed out ribbons to the winners of the animal competitions. She was named Miss Baltimore County Farm Bureau at the county’s 4-H Fair last month.

Another spectator was Harry Gribble Sr., of Sparks, one of several people honored by fair chairman David Cavey for volunteering over the years to make the fair a success.

“I come to this fair every year,” said Gribble, 79. “It's always been a fun show.”

While most of the excitement was outside in the show rings where children dressed in white wrestled with animals that far outweighed them, the indoor exhibits filled the school’s cafeteria.

“We ordered 300 first-place ribbons for the indoor exhibits and we ran out,” said fair coordinator Kelly Wilson. “I’m not sure if we had more exhibitors, but kids entered more items this year. Our under-9 group was really big this year.”

Ronnie Frere, 3, of Cockeysville, picked up two blue ribbons for his pears and perennials and his Gerber dairy took second place in the under-9 age division.

But he was especially proud of his tomatoes, said his mother, Rose Frere.

“His job was to help plant them and then water them,” she said. “He loves to eat his ‘matoes’.”

Wilson said volunteers began judging the indoor exhibits at 7:30 and didn’t finish until midnight the night before the fair. The fair closed at 3 p.m. and three hours later, everything was packed up.

“Having the fair at Hereford was great while it lasted,” David Cavey said. “There was some sentiment at the end, but everybody’s excited about next year.”

Save the date: the 65th annual Junior Farm Fair will take place Aug. 14.

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