Today is the last day to take in the 2011 Barton County Fair, which opened last Wednesday.

Today’s events will start with nondenominational church services at 8:30 a.m., followed by breakfast. The morning will also see 4-H round robin showings of small animals and livestock, with the sale of championship animals at 2 p.m.

Those who come out for the traditional 4-H barbecue can take in an antique tractor pull in the afternoon.

Keeping all of the exhibits and entertainment in order has been the job of dozens of fair friends, board members and 4-H families. Several seasoned 4-H teenagers, including Desmond Noah from Hoisington, served at fair ambassadors.

The ambassadors designed this year’s fair T-shirt, a tie-dyed 20th anniversary shirt that sold out. "We help set up," Noah said of the ambassadors’ many duties. They also worked on ways to encourage more young people to come to the fair, organizing the free Sheltered Reality Drumline program on opening night.

An active member of the Hoisington Jets 4-H club, Noah also had several fair entries, in art, photography and food.

Noah said there was one other ambassador from Hoisington, and five from Ellinwood this year. Each had to apply and be interviewed for the job.

In Expo I, where commercial exhibits are located, The Golden Belt Railroad Association ran model trains, and Faith Community Church handed out free water and walking sticks — both popular. Pastor Sandy Kennedy estimated they would give out more than 1,000 of the wooden sticks. "We tell people they are walking sticks," she joked, "but some people thought they were whacking sticks." Each stick included a simple leather handle or bracelet, put together by church members. A card explained the Bible verses that each bead on the bracelet symbolized.