The 4-H Agriculture Expo will return this weekend for its second year in the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. The event, formerly held in Ninilchik, will run for three days, with livestock shows Friday, a livestock auction Saturday and a horse show Sunday.
Animals will be shown across both small and large categories. Small animals include rabbits, poultry and ducks while large animals are horses, goats, sheep and cattle.
Workshops will be held each day of the event in the conference room. Alaska State Veterinarian Dr. Bob Gerlach will be teaching the first — how to prevent avian influenza. Other workshops include potato growing, raising backyard poultry, feeding Alaska livestock and bee keeping. These workshops are open to all ticketed attendees of the expo.
Other features of the expo include community crafting sessions at 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, where crafts will be available for children and families, as well as dog tricks performed on Sunday following the horse show. A petting zoo will be available Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cassy Rankin, program assistant for the Kenai Peninsula District 4-H, said that the purpose of the expo is to bring greater awareness and education about agriculture to the central Peninsula. “It’s a community event that focuses on agriculture and use in our community,” she said.
In 2020, 4-H gained approval to hold the expo at the Sports Complex in 2021 and 2022. The rent for the location was also waived by the city for those two years. Rankin said that 4-H has secured approval to further host the event at the Sports Complex in 2023 and 2024, also saying that an anonymous donor had paid the rent for 2023.
Tickets for the event will be available at the door, either $4 per day or $6 for a full weekend pass. Admission on Friday can also be secured by making a food pantry donation as part of Food Drive Friday.
