ELLSWORTH — The 2020 Canfield Junior Fair in early September will be the final opportunity for Olivia Altiere of Ellsworth to show her animal projects.

She is planning to show a beef feeder cow, a dairy feeder cow, and a hog, which will all be part of the Junior Fair auction.

“I was very happy to hear the Junior Fair would take place this year,” Altiere said. “This will be my last year showing 4-H animals. Therefore it means a great deal to me for all the time and hard work the committees and boards have done to make this year’s Junior Fair possible.”

The Junior Fair is scheduled for Sept. 2-7. The big event, the 174th Canfield Fair, had to be canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Altiere, 17, daughter of David and Nicole Altiere, has been involved in 4-H for the past five years as a member of the Western Reserve Rangers 4-H Club. She has balanced her participation along with cheerleading, track and the National Honor Society at Western Reserve High School.

Doing one animal project takes time, but managing three is something Altiere said she started back at the beginning of the year with her dairy feeder cows.

“The first few months I will bottle feed them twice a day,” she said. “During this time is when most of the bonding will happen between me and the dairy need bottle fed, I will begin feeding them grain full time.”

At that point, Altiere will begin working with them by walking and training them so they will make a good showing at the fair.

In early May she added three pigs that she tried to spend as much time as possible with inside the pen. They are small when they arrive and as they grow, she started letting them out, one at a time to walk and train them.

In June, the beef feeder calf arrives and adds another segment to Altiere’s daily schedule. She manages to balance her time while keeping in touch with her club and friends.

“Our monthly club meetings have been conducted over Zoom meetings,” she said. “I have kept in touch with friends over several social media apps.”

She said her club has not yet held an in-person meeting. In past years she has assisted with preparing the buildings and pens for the fair, which she wants to do this year if possible.

At the fair, she will show, then sell her project animals, then put the money away for college. She plans to major in either nursing or pharmacy.

She said the fair has taught her responsibility, through raising the animals, showing them, and selling them at auction. She said it is a lot of work during the fair, but it always turns out for the best.

“I always look forward to the fair because I get to spend time with my friends, family and animals,” she said. “The week of the fair can be very stressful at times, but for the most part, it is one of the most rewarding weeks of the year.”