With cooler weather and shorter days, it must be fall. With fall comes a whole new batch of activities and programs with the Rowan County 4-H program.

This fall there are so many new and exciting ways to get involved with the 4-H program or to deepen your already established experience with 4-H. So, what’s new? What’s coming up? How do you get involved? Well, I’ll answer all those questions and more if you just keep reading.

Let’s start with what’s new. This year at the Rowan County Fair the 4-H program is sponsoring a youth pet show. This will take the place of the dog show that has been a part of the fair for several years. With participation waning, I felt like a change in the program was necessary; so this year will be the first 4-H Pet Expo.

Youth may enter one pet into the show and animals need not be registered to be a part of the show. Youth may exhibit a dog, cat, fish, bird, reptile, rabbit or other pet but not farm animals or fowl. Registration for Pet Expo is free but must be completed electronically by Sept. 13.

Pet Expo will be held at the Rowan County Fairgrounds on Sunday, Sept. 17 with registration beginning at 1 p.m. and the show starting at 1:30 p.m. Registration information and rules for 4-H Pet Expo can be found at http://go.ncsu.edu/4hpetexpo. All pets must be healthy and up to date on vaccinations to participate in Pet Expo; any unruly or aggressive pets will be asked to leave.

Next up on the 4-H calendar is shooting sports enrollment. If you are interested in learning more about 4-H shooting sports and would like to join the shooting sports club, please plan on attending the informational/enrollment meeting on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at the Rowan County Extension Office at 2727 Old Concord Road. This meeting will introduce you and your child to 4-H shooting sports, explain how to participate in the club, discuss the calendar for 4-H shooting sports, and give you all the necessary forms to get enrolled.

As we move into October, the next new program Rowan 4-H will offer is the 4-H Fall Festival. To participate in this event, youth must be members of Rowan County 4-H. 4-H Fall Festival will have a pumpkin decorating contest, wildlife habitat judging contest, horticulture judging contest and a fashion revue. 4-H Fall Festival will be on Oct. 14 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Rowan County Extension Office.

Also in October will be 4-H Science Night. This program is open to all youth in Rowan County ages 9-18. This event will be on Oct. 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the Rowan County Extension Office. Participants in 4-H Science Night will develop engineering and problem-solving skills as they design and construct a wearable fitness tracker.

Youth will work in groups of four to five and solve design and engineering problems and present their workable designs at the end of the night. This program is limited to 30 participants and registration is free, but you must call the office at 704-216-8970 to sign up.

As always, if you have any questions about any of the items in this article, please feel free to contact me at the Rowan County Extension Office or stop by and see me and let me see how we can get you and your child involved in the Rowan County 4-H program.