Morris County 4-H Fair Specially Designed for Gamers -- Thursday through Sunday
Published on July 09, 2020
Join the Fair When it Goes Live Via "Minecraft''
Morris County's 4-H teen community has declined to allow the annual county 4-H Fair to bite the dust this year due to COVID-19. While the annual event will not take place at its usual venue, Chubb Park in Chester Township, next week, the sense of 4-H community is being recreated through an online gaming system.
Live events and tours will be scheduled for participants to enjoy beginning Thursday and running through Sunday.
(JPG, 39KB) 4-H virtual fair build team manager David Longendyck overseeing a build session.
The Fair is a highlight event of the year for our members, said Kelly Dziak, Morris County 4-H Program Associate. Many see the it as a sort-of family reunion where 4-Hers from all the clubs get together. Not having the event this year was a big blow to our 4-H community.
Teen 4-H members Johanna Pipoli of Ledgewood and David Longendyck of Denville decided to battle back against the cancellation.
The duo decided to recreate the 4-H Fair's sense of community through Minecraft, which is an open-world online game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving. Longendyck contacted MCProHosting, which generously donated server space for the project.
The team then recruited adult volunteers and youth members, representing all Morris County 4-H project areas, to help build the virtual Morris County 4-H Fair. It will launch next week, on July 16, when the annual fair was scheduled to be held.
(PNG, 79KB) Morris County 4-H Virtual Fair is under construction.
On June 8, the Minecraft 4-H STEP Club was launched, including more than 40 youth members and 10 adult volunteers. 4-H STEP clubs are short-term exploratory programs that focus on a specific project and meet for just a few weeks. The goal forthis club was to have a unique Morris County 4-H Fair ready for the public viewing in time for the original opening date of the county 4-H Fair.
I want everyone to enjoy the 4-H Fair, even if it is virtual, said Longendyck.
To connect to the special Minecraft version of the Morris County Fair, visit https://morris.njaes.rutgers.edu/4h/fair/
For those without Minecraft accounts, video tours led by the youth members will be available as pre-recorded or live events.
(JPG, 28KB) Holt Englander works on the game on his computer
This has been an amazing experience, said Morris County 4-H club leader, Celia Longendyck. I get to see each member's favorite part of the Fair plus their imaginative ideas of what the Fair could look like without the constraints of reality.
Said 4-H parent and assistant club leader, Britt Wagner: It's all of the fun with none of the stress. In Minecraft, we control the weather and there are plenty of building materials.
The Morris County 4-H team gives special thanks to MCProHosting for donating server space for the "county fair'' and to the Morris County 4-H Association for supporting the Mionecraft venture. For updates and more information, visit the Morris County 4-H website at https://morris.njaes.rutgers.edu/4h/fair/.
(PNG, 53KB)