Grange Rotunda has full slate of fair speakers
- Laurie Sidle, OSU Extension Wayne Co.
- September 3, 2024
- 388
As we celebrate the 175th Wayne County Fair, OSU Extension is continuing its long-standing tradition of providing a variety demonstrations and speakers in the Grange Rotunda Monday through Thursday, Sept. 9-12. We kick off our programming with topics geared toward youth, and then the rest of the week, visitors can learn about teas, pottery, wool spinning, quilting, gardening, historical barns, antique tools and consumer protection.
Here is the lineup:
Monday, Sept. 9
—10:30 a.m. Insect Adventures with the United Titanium Bug Zoo from the Ohio State University Wooster campus. Zoo staff will bring some of Ohio’s native insects from the zoo, and it will be a hands-on learning experience!
—11:30 a.m. Featured Creatures. Serena Solis from The Wilderness Center of Wilmot will bring the center’s ambassador animals, Zea, a red corn snake, and Gus, an eastern box turtle, for visitors to meet.
—12:30 p.m. Build a Healthy Plate With Rita. Rita Abboud, registered dietitian at Wooster Community Hospital, will lead an interactive session with kids on how to build a healthy plate. She’ll provide healthy meal and snack ideas and provide a chance to win healthy snacks.
—2 p.m. “Skins and Skulls” Mammals of Ohio Wildlife Program. John Lorson, Soil and Water Conservation District program manager, will lead a program on Ohio’s wild mammals complete with skulls, furs and even a few surprise animal artifacts. Come see, touch and learn about your wild Ohio neighbors. This will be suitable for all ages.
—3 p.m. All About Robots. The Triway High School robotics team will talk about what’s involved in building a robot, how robots are used and what they’ve learned from their experience with robotics.
4 p.m. Easy and Attractive Indoor Plants. OSU Master Gardener Mark Wiest will talk about five indoor plants that are easy to grow and care for. Audience members will be able to take home plant starters.
Tuesday, Sept. 10
—10:30 a.m. Controlling Those Pesky Weeds. Paul Snyder, Secrest Arboretum operations manager and Master Gardener coordinator, will talk about common lawn and landscape weeds, their life cycle, and how to control them.
—11:30 a.m. Understanding Utility Consumer Protections and Energy Assistance Programs. Tonja Stewart Shaw, senior outreach and education specialist for the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, will give an overview of Utility Consumer Protections and Energy Assistance Programs, focusing on how they support consumers in managing their utility costs and safeguarding their access to essential services. She also will cover energy assistance programs designed to help low-income households.
—12:30 p.m. How To Keep Your Muscles Happy and Healthy. Wellness Center Director Dianna Stair, registered nurse and licensed massage therapist, will give an overview of the muscles in the body and the importance of keeping them moving. She will share techniques to help individuals relieve muscle tightness that involve using a simple tennis ball and a swim noodle.
—2 p.m. Camellia Sinensis: 6 Teas, One Plant. Sonia Mullens, owner of New World Spice and Tea Traders in Wooster, will discuss how to get white, green, yellow, oolong, black and dark tea all from one plant.
—3 p.m. Pottery Demonstration. Adam McVicker from the Wayne Center for the Arts will be at his pottery wheel molding clay.
Wednesday, Sept. 11
—10:30 a.m. Bonsai Basics. Dr. Ken and Cynthia Blanchard will give a brief overview of the history of bonsai, materials commonly used, techniques for creating it, and the care and maintenance of bonsai. They will demonstrate how a nursery stock tree can be altered to create a bonsai.
—11:30 a.m. When Rain Hits the Ground: Rainfall Simulator Demonstration. The Wayne Soil & Water Conservation District will host a demonstration of its new Rainfall Simulator, a device designed to shed light on the complex relationship between soil health, ground cover, stormwater runoff and groundwater recharge. SWCD staff will welcome questions for this interactive presentation.
—12:30 p.m. Historical Barns. Wayne County is home to many family farms that have belonged to the same family for generations. Learn about the different styles of barns in the area and the Historic Family Farm program, which honors farms that have been continuously owned by the same family for generations. The presenter is Wayne County native Barbara Lang, who serves as the Northeast Ohio farmer advisory board member for the Ohio Department of Farmland Preservation.
—2 p.m. Quilt Show and Tell. See beautiful quilts and learn about different quilting techniques from the Tree City Quilt Guild.
—3 p.m. Wool and Flax Spinning. Sue and Rick Rindchen will demonstrate spinning wool and flax and talk about the importance of these fibers in agriculture and manufacturing.
Thursday, Sept. 12
—10:30 a.m. Caring for Hydrangeas. Paul Snyder from Secrest Arboretum will return to speak about hydrangeas. He will discuss top performing plants from Secrest Arboretum’s hydrangea trial and provide instructions on how to grow and care for hydrangeas.
—11:30 a.m. A New Focus for Your Lawn. Master Gardener Gary Horrisberger will discuss the latest research for customizing a management plan for your lawn including strategies for reducing rainwater runoff and making it available to support a healthier lawn.
—12:20 p.m. Tool Time with the Ag Museum. Paul Locher, director and curator of the Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center and historical columnist for Farm and Dairy magazine, will speak about the ongoing development of the museum. He also will provide an audience-involved presentation on some tools that would have been used on the area’s pioneer farms. Come and have some fun guessing the use of these unusual and historic tools from Locher’s personal collection.
—2 p.m. Using AI To Overcome Family History Research Roadblocks. Deborah Kitko, genealogy librarian at the Wayne County Public Library for more than 35 years, will discuss artificial intelligence and other tools family historians may use to overcome roadblocks in their research.
—3 p.m. Killbuck Watershed Land Trust - What Does It Do? Tate Emerson, executive director of the Killbuck Watershed Land Trust, will share information and answer questions about the nonprofit and local farmland preservation trust.
Our speakers are excited to share their expertise. On your visit to the fair, be sure to stop by the Grange Rotunda and see what you can learn from them.
Laurie Sidle is an Ohio State University Extension family and consumer sciences and 4-H program assistant and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or sidle.31@osu.edu.