Agricultural News
The Night of Champions: A Brand-New Experience at the Tulsa State Fair
Fri, 24 Sep 2021 15:35:46 CDT
Fair season is in full swing. As the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City wraps up, the Tulsa State Fair is set to take center stage in early Oct. The Tulsa State Fair has a legacy of offering young Oklahomans a chance to showcase their hard work through 4-H and FFA projects.
Brandi Herndon, agribusiness manager for the Expo Square in Tulsa, told Ron Hays that there are a couple of changes at the fair this year.
"This year, (we) are very excited to present The Night of Champions," Herndon said. "This transformative event will be (a) fun, exciting evening to celebrate and honor 150 Oklahoma 4-H and FFA youth who - will take the stage as we select - the grand and reserve grand champions of the show."
The new event is set to replace the traditional junior livestock auction, Herndon said. The mission of the new event remains the same: reward victorious individuals for their hard work and accomplishments, she added. The changes aim to make the event more exciting for exhibitors, donors and onlookers.
"We are still committed to offering as many monetary awards as we can to these young people," Herndon said. "The structure of the actual event and how we do it is changing."
Giving the event more wow-factor has been in the works for the past five years, according to Herndon.
"As the traditional junior livestock auction, in itself, is a production," Herndon said. "We were getting further and further removed from it being a traditional sale."
Herndon and Tulsa State Fair Ringmasters decided 2021 was the year to transform the event. She said the new way of showcasing kids and their accomplishments will allow the special event to give a little something back to the donors who make it all possible.
"Obviously the first and foremost goal is to reward the kiddos," Herndon said. "We have some phenomenal donors who also deserve to be in the spotlight as well."
Aside from the Night of Champions, the Tulsa State Fair is home to an excellent junior breeding show program. Herndon said the numbers of entries in every junior show at the Tulsa State Fair are up this year, with the two largest being the breeding gilt show and the junior heifer show.
Herndon said she is excited to see the fair at normal capacity this year.
The Night of Champions is set to take place 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6 in the Ford Truck area at Expo Square in Tulsa, Okla.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear Ron's conversation with Brandi Herndon about The Night of Champions and other goings-on of this year's Tulsa State Fair. For more information about this event and others set to take place at the Tulsa State Fair this year, click or tap here.
Photo: The 2020 Tulsa State Fair Grand Champion Market Steer, shown by Cierra Collins.
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