2026 Summer Camp Catch-Phrase Contest

Catch Phrase 2026- Camp Grant Walker Style! What’s a good theme for 2026 4-H Summer Camp? Send us your most creative ideas for a slogan -- in (7) words or less. Illustrations must accompany the phrase and will be part of the contest. The contest is open to all 4-H Club members. The winning slogan will be one that is brief and “catchy,” capturing the spirit of 4-H Camp Grant Walker. The artworkand slogan be used in its entirety or used as the concept for the final artwork. Logo and slogan will be on all publicity for camp and the camp T-shirt, and the winner will receive a monetary award. Think fast – the deadline is: October 31, 2025. Submissions must also include the following: Full name, grade & age of person submitting the slogan, parish/4-H club, complete mailing address, and telephone number.

 

4-H Night with the Pelicans

Don’t miss out on a fun night of basketball and fan experiences! The 4-H Night with the Pelicans game is scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026. There will be a private pre-game party for 4-H members and Pelican fans at the Smoothie King Center from 3:30 PM-4:30 PM. Ticket prices vary. If you purchase tickets and want the chance to have an on-court fan opportunity, please contact the office. Tickets can be purchased here https://pels.group/4HDeadline to purchase tickets is Friday, January 2, 2026.

 

Achievement Day Theme

Do you enjoy drawing and expressing yourself artistically? If you said yes, then the Achievement Day Theme contest is for you! All you need to do is come up with a catchy slogan and a colorful picture. Draw your creation on regular 8 1/2" X 11" typing paper and turn it into your school. Entries relating to the advertisement of cigarettes or alcohol will not be accepted. Entries are due on October 20^st. Be sure to include your name, school, and grade on the back of the entry.Multiple entries per participant will be accepted.No computer-generated themes will be accepted! Themes will not be given back. The overall winner will receive a cash prize at Achievement Day!

 

Back to School Dance

Get back into the groove of school by attending the Back-to-School Dance! The Junior Leadership Club will be sponsoring a dance at the Rayne Ballroom, 401 Gossen Memorial Park Dr., Sunday, October 26^th from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. There will be a $5.00 (non-refundable) entry fee if you purchase a ticket ahead of time from our office or a Jr. Leader member. For tickets bought at the door, the cost will be $7. All 4^th-6^th graders are able to attend regardless of their 4-H membership status. Bring concession money. Tickets can be pre-purchased from any Junior Leader member. Drop Off: Enter the parking lot from behind the Ballroom building; follow signs to drop off at glass doors.

 

Bee Candle Workshop

Join us for a beeswax candle making workshop on October 20, 2025, from 1-3 pm at the 4-H Office! This workshop is open to all Acadia Parish 4-H members! Cost to attend this workshop is $10 (non-refundable). Spots are limited and on a first come first serve basis. Registration is NOW open through your 4-HOnline account under the events tab.

 

Broiler Chick Orders

It is time to order broiler chicks! We will be ordering chicks for both the parish and state shows.The deadline to order chicks for both shows is November 6, 2025.Be sure to order separate sets of birds for each show!You can only enter one pen of pullets and one pen of cockerels.Chicks are $.55 per chick for parish and $.75 for per chick for state.We recommend that you order at least 20-25 chicks for each show.Chicks will be straight run and not sexed.Order forms can be found online or picked up from the 4-H Office.

 

Challenge Camp

Are you ready for Challenge Camp? Come join us as we develop leaders in times of challenges on November 18-19, 2025. 4-H Challenge camp this year will be held at Acadian Baptist Center in Eunice, LA. 4-H Challenge Camp is designed to support Louisiana State Standards, and this is for 7^th and 8^th graders ONLY. This camp will be full of activities that will increase self-confidence and self-reliance in young people. Youth participants will be excused from school and parents are responsible for drop off and pick up. To sign up to attend this camp, please register at https://v2.4honline.com. Registration opens on October 1^st and its first come first serve and only 12 spots are available. The cost of the camp is $88.00, and this includes snacks, lunch, and T-Shirt. You must complete the registration and payment process in order to secure your spot. Money is non-refundable. You may attend even if you already attended in the past. 4-H Challenge Camp is one of the most valuable encounters a young person can have.

 

Commodity Cookery Contests

We will again host two cookery contests this year! The Ground Beef, Rice and Bento contests will be held on Monday, November 10, 2025, at the 4-H office.

Commodity Cookery Rules & Regulations (All Grades): Doors will open at 7:30am. for those who have school that day. Others may bring their dish(es) at 8:30am. Dishes may be dropped off by a parent, and you do not have to be present to receive an award. Judging will begin at 9:00 AM. Once judging begins, no late dishes will be accepted. ALL participants must submit their recipe at the time of entry with category, division, name, grade and school club on the back of the recipe. Only one copy of the recipe (neatly handwritten or typed) is required. Each participant may ONLY ENTER ONE DISH IN EACH COMMODITY SUBCATEGORY. For example, you can enter a dish in Rice Main Dish and one in Rice Dessert, but NOT two in Rice Dessert.

Remember, dishes must be prepared at home. Each dish must be chilled on ice to 40° or lower (even cakes and cookies), plated in a disposable container and brought to the contest in an ice chest accompanied with ICE, or they will be disqualified. No place mats, serving utensils or flower arrangements, etc will be accepted. NOTE: only 3-4 servings of the dish must be plated at the contest. For example, if the recipe states that it serves six, only three servings should be displayed but your recipe must state the entire serving size.

Ground Beef Cookery A min. of one pound of ground beef must be used. Divisions: Low-Calorie Main Dish (Provides less than 300 calories per serving. Calculation of calories must be stated on recipe.), Quick & Easy Main Dish (A dish that is ready to serve in less than one hour. The time for each step and for cooking and baking must be stated on recipe.), & One-Dish Meal (Provides a complete serving from at least three of the five food groups. Food groups in the dish should be on the recipe.)

Rice Cookery Each dish must contain at least 1 cup of cooked rice. Wild rice, rice cereal, rice flour, etc. must also contain cooked rice. Example: Traditional Rice Krispie treats do not meet the contest requirements. The contest will be divided into three categories: Rice Main Dish: contains significant amounts of rice and protein. Rice Side Dish: rice dressing would be considered a side dish. Rice Dessert: breads, cakes, pies, cookies, candies, icebox pies, ice cream, pudding, etc.

Healthy Boxed Lunch or “Bento” A bento lunch is a compact, balanced, and visually appealing meal packed in a box. Each competitor will create a lunch to be eaten at school by a 9- to 12-year-old student. The beverage will be water and should not be included. Your entry should be representative of “MyPlate” recommendations: www.myplate.gov. Each competitor will transport their Healthy Box or “Bento” lunch to the contest packed in a disposable, portable, lock-top, and leak proof container, chilled to 40° or lower and on ice.

 

Duct Tape Contest

Participate in our annual 4-H Duct Tape Contest. This contest is open to ALL youth in 4^th-8^th grade in Acadia Parish!! Projects should be created by students. You CANNOT duct tape on top of a pre-existing item. You may use cardboard, wire and clips ONLY. Categories: Clothing :(belts, vest, hats, shoes) Accessories: (Wallets, purses, hair bows, key chains, etc.) Room Decorations: (photo frame, flower arrangement, etc.). Each participant may enter ONE item per category. You may not re-enter an item that was already entered in the previous year's contest. All duct tape entries are due to the 4-H Extension Office by October 13^th.

 

Holiday Commodity Sale

The Acadia Parish 4-H Foundation will be sponsoring a holiday sale, offering rice, sweet potatoes, shelled pecans and gourmet pecans. The school with the most sales will be rewarded with a party!This fundraiser provides funds for parish scholarships, contests, workshops and club meeting activities. All of the commodities are Louisiana grown. Rice and sweet potatoes are from Garber Farms in Iota and pecans are from Point Coupee Pecans. We are asking each 4-H family to sell 5 orders. Deadline to place orders is October 28, 2025. Items ordered can be picked up from the 4-H Office on November 19^th from 12:30-5:30 PM.You can place an order online through any Acadia Parish 4-H member, or via this linkhttps://acadia-4-h-foundation.square.site/ or you can pick up an order form from the 4-H Office.

 

Horse Clinic

We are once again offering horse clinics this year for FREE! This year Acadia parish will be offering horse clinics every month! We will again team up with master horsemen throughout the region. The first clinic will be held at the Acadia Parish Rice Arena on October 27^th from 6-8 PM. In order to attended youth must be an approved 4-H member AND bring your own horse. For more information or questions, please call Emma Zaunbrecher Tyler at 337-366-2109.

 

Hunter Safety Class

Thinking about joining shooting sports this year? All shooting sports members are required to have their hunter safety card by December 31^st to continue participating in practices after December 31^st. There will be a class held at the 4-H office this year in December. Registration is now open. December 12-13 2025, register here https://louisianaoutdoors.com/events/193746.

 

Join it!

Any boy or girl who is 9 years old by January 1st of the current school year through the 12th grade and is willing to follow the 4-H ideals and standards, is eligible for membership. This year you can join 4-H Online! To join 4-H Online, visit https://v2.4honline.com.

 

Join the Jr. Leadership Club!

This club is open to all 7th-12th grade 4-H members. Junior Leaders have fun helping younger 4-H’ers with their project work and assisting in their communities. This club participates in numerous activities where members meet and make friends with other teenagers throughout the parish and state. They also attend an educational awards trip each summer as a reward for their participation throughout the year. Meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM at the Acadia Parish Extension Office. The next meeting will be held on October 14^th . The cost to join is $15 (non-refundable). For more information on how to join, see the Project Club section of this newsletter. Registration is now open through your 4HOnline account, under the events tab. The deadline to join is November 11th.

 

Livestock Validation & Possession Dates!

Animals must be in the exhibitor’s possession and validated by the following dates below. All animals can be validated by the exhibitor or parent on their own premise. The responsibility of tagging and collecting DNA hair samples will be that of the exhibitor and/or parent. Exhibitors should request a validation kit from the extension office.Validation will consist of: Ear tagging animal. Collecting hair sample and/or DNA sample; hair sample should be placed in a properly identified validation envelope for each animal validated.Validation envelopes must be returned to local LSU AgCenter office with validation fee by specified deadline. Exhibitors must enter animal information into the

4-H Online system on or before deadline. The responsibility of entering animal info into 4-H online, ear tagging animals, and collecting DNA and/or hair samples will be that of the exhibitor and/or parent. Validation envelopes must be returned to the 4-H Office with the $7 fee by the deadline stated below. Animals validated must be in the exhibitor’s name or family name. Animals tagged for the 2025 LA State Fair may utilize the State Fair tag but must still pull hair to complete the LSU AgCenter State Show validations.

Validation and Possession Dates: Com.=Commercial

Com. Does, Market Goats, Com. Lambs, Market Lambs, Com. Heifers and Com. Dairy Heifers: November 10, 2025, by 4:30 P.M. Market Swine and Com. Gilts: December 1, 2025, by 4:30 P.M.

 

National 4-H Week

National 4-H Week is October 5-11! We would like to see all clubs participate in activities such as making treats for teachers, hanging signs or banners around school or have green and white dress up day, etc. Take the time to celebrate your wonderful club organization. Remember we are having a school display 4-H club contest! It can be an outdoor or indoor display. Display pictures are due via email to Mrs. Mary Beth at mleonards@agcenter.lsu.edu on October 13th. The club that wins the display contest will receive an ice cream party!

 

October Club Lesson

In this month’s lesson, members will investigate the process of “farm to table.” As they race the clock, they will discover the interdependence of food producers, processors, distributors, and consumers. They will also discover how important agriculture is to almost all aspects of our lives.

 

Pumpkin Decorating Contest

Get into the Fall spirit and showcase your creative side! Gather your paintbrushes and participate in our pumpkin decorating contest! This contest is open to all 4-H members. 4-H members can only enter one pumpkin per category. The categories are School Pride, Animal, Character and 4-H Spirit. Pumpkins will be accepted at the 4-H office on October 27^th only! No early or late entries will be accepted. Winners will be announced on Facebook on October 31^st. Rules 1) The main part of each entry must be a pumpkin or a member of the pumpkin family. NO CRAFT PUMPKINS WILL BE PERMITTED. 2) Each entry must be clearly labeled and include the following information: contest category, student’s name, grade level, and 4-H club.

3) Skill level should reflect the youth’s grade and age. 4) Pumpkins may not be carved or hollowed out.

5) 4-H members may enter one (1) pumpkin in each category. 6) Objects, paper, and materials of any kind may be pinned or glued to pumpkins except for glitter. Participants may also draw or paint on their entries or dress them up. Again, do not carve or hollow out your pumpkin. 7) No electrical device may be used as part of any entry. 8) Pumpkins must be picked up on October 29^th. Pumpkins that are not picked up will be thrown away. Entries are judged on the following criteria: originality, use of materials, quality of work and creativity. For helpful tips, see our website under the events tab. If you turn in your pumpkin, and it is already beginning to rot, your pumpkin will be disqualified.

 

State Livestock Show T-Shirt Contest

Get out your art set and use your skills to design the back of the official LSU AgCenter Livestock show t-shirt! This contest is open to all 4-H members. The winner of the design contest will have their artwork design on the shirt, receive a free long or short sleeve State Livestock Show t-shirt, $25 prize and recognition. Colored designs should only include purple, green, gold and white. Only one entry per person. Submit your drawing in color via email to Becky Gautreaux (bgautreaux@agcenter.lsu.edu) by 12 PM on October 17, 2025.