MIDDLEBORO — For Brenda Easter, the annual East Middleboro 4-H Fair is “all about the kids.”

From baking treats to raising livestock, 4-H club volunteers like Easter help teach life skills to children of all ages. 

“The kids spend the weekend showing their animals and answering questions,” said Easter, who explained that they participate in animal shows during the fair. 

“These are skills that these kids are going to have for a lifetime,” she said.

Children who raised farm animals or participated in clubs got the opportunity to share what they have learned during the 72nd East Middleboro 4-H Fair on Sunday, Sept.3.

In preparation for the goat show, the Wall siblings fed hay to their Alpine and Nigerian Dwarf goats. 

“Some goats don’t have much of a personality but our goats have a lot of personality,” said Lillan,10. 

“Angie is very sassy and Tom just likes the attention, said Malory,10. “He’s a mama’s boy.”

In addition to showing off their goats, the Walls also challenged themselves by handling the sheep during the sheep show.

“We are showing [the sheep] today too because we want to learn more about them and test our skills,” said Malory.

This year was eight-year-old Madyln Anderson’s first time participating in the dog show with her three-year-old Puggle named Bluey. 

“We’ve been doing figure eights and training him to come,” said Anderson. 

As Anderson prepared Bluey for the dog show by walking him through the agility course, Bluey kept getting distracted by the treats in Anderson’s hand. 

“His whole life is about food,” she said. “It's all he thinks about.”

Before the animal shows fair-goers viewed quilts, photographs and artwork created by 4-H members in the schoolhouse. 

According to Easter, this year’s fair was dedicated to her father Richard Peters and daughter Gwen Easter. Both were active members of the East Middleboro 4-H Club.