Federation News
Federation Launches New Ag Education Program With Help of Florida Department of Agriculture
Classic cartoons are everyone’s favorite, no matter how young or old,
and recently volunteer members of the Florida Federation of Fairs decid- ed what better way to encourage individuals to learn about agriculture and enhance their events for the fair going public. In partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture, the FFF recently launched a new electronic program geared toward encompassing all ages, embracing modern technology, and making learning fun. Best of all, with the intro- duction of Ole Red, agriculture comes to life and is available to Fairs of all sizes and with any budget. Ole Red was created based off the 2015 Osceola County Fair Program,
“Follow Wilbur” where youth were encouraged to do a scavenger hunt in search of Wilbur the Pig. At each siting of Wilbur, there was a QR Code that could be scanned, with their electronic device and a short vid- eo would play giving them facts about agriculture. Upon completing the hunt, they would answer questions and turn in their answers for a chance to win tickets to Universal Studios. Executive Director of the Florida Federation of Fairs, Lisa Hinton, loved the idea and wanted to make it available to everyone. From creative design meetings a new star, Ole Red, was born and the
Florida Department of Agriculture created animated videos that are both educational and entertaining, but best of all…. FREE! In addition, they helped create signage and using the volunteered voice of Associate Member Greg Thompson (The Sweeney Family Band), the entire pro- gram is free and available via the FFF website,
www.floridafairs.org. Whether you make it a scavenger hunt, use it as simple knowledge and addition to your Fair, or incorporate it within your existing education programming, this is an awesome addition to our library of programs. The second piece of the puzzle was creating simple Ag Fact signs to
be distributed at fairgrounds throughout the state. Knowing that many small fairs cannot afford graphic designers, but seeing a need for fun facts, FDACS was again accommodating and assisted the FFF with the development of 21 unique signs that can be used to decorate and edu- cate. The designs can be easily downloaded via the FFF’s website (
www.floridafairs.org) and are completely free. The only cost to fairs is printing them on signage material. It is the hope of the Florida Federation of Fairs to make learning accessi- ble to everyone and by implementing these new, free, programs, they are moving in the right direction and improving our events along the way.
In summary, there are three parts to the new project with the Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: The first of three projects is a set of 21 signs talking about “ag facts”
in the state of Florida. In summary, there are three parts to the new project with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services:
The first of three projects is a set of 21 signs talking about “ag facts”
in the state of Florida. The signs cover everything from beef to honey and include interesting and important facts to help educate the fair- going public about the importance of agriculture in Florida. Did you know that “Florida has over 47,500 farms?” Or that Florida is #3 in the nation in the amount of honey produced? These signs are available on the Federation website at
www.floridafairs.org under the General Info – Ag Resources section. The second project was the one copied from the idea used at the
Osceola County Fair called Follow Wilbur. With the creative talents of the FDACS, it was determined that the Federation character would be “Ole Red”. The department created 9 signs about different agricultural industries in Florida and linked them with QR codes to 20 second videos about that industry in Florida. So, from Beef Cattle to Poultry or Citrus, Florida Fairs now have some GREAT signs they can print off the website to use at their Fair! The third part of the project are two photo opportunity signs that Fairs can use at
A special thanks to Greg Thompson with “Them Sweeney Brothers” for provid- ing the voice of “Ole Red” for this video project.
The Ag Committee members pictured Stacy Wade (above) and Miranda Muir (right) along with Jeanne Keaton worked diligently on this pro- ject.
A SPECIAL THANKS TO
COMMISSIONER ADAM PUTNAM AND THE
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
Eston and Kiano Espana of Salto Entertainment try out “Old Red” at the Federation Trade Show in St. Augustine.
FAIRCRACKER-SUMMER 2016
AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES FOR THEIR HELP IN CREATING THESE GREAT NEW PRODUCTS FOR OUR FLORIDA FAIRS TO USE TO
EDUCATE THE PUBLIC! 19
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