Blue Ribbon projects are a thing of the past – well, almost.

For most 4-H youth exhibitors at the Youth Building at this year’s New York State Fair, Aug. 22 through Sept. 2, the days of blue, red and white ribbons have been replaced by an emphasis on learning, rather than competition.

Instead of working toward ribbons, youth exhibitors will explain what they learned and experienced while producing their individual projects. Most of the ribbon judging and distribution was discarded by the State Fair 4-H Advisory Committee, to give young people a better perspective on fair participation.

4-H is the youth component of Cornell Cooperative Extension and it represents a partnership between Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and College of Human Ecology, as well as the various county Cooperative Extension associations.

Cornell extension personnel and faculty will be involved in appraising youth exhibits, as well as participating in other education efforts at the fair.

Every 4-H youth exhibit entry that meets Exhibitor Information Statement (EIS) criteria will receive a purple ribbon, while exhibits that do not fit into a category will receive a green participation ribbon. Constructive comments by the evaluators will be passed along to the young exhibitors.

“We need to move away from the idea of one champion,” said Ron Jones, Cornell’s state 4-H program leader. “We want to put the emphasis on helping youth learn.”

For now, some of the animal exhibits still will have the traditional blue, red and white ribbons awarded, however.

Jones said that it appears that New York is among the first states to begin dismantling the judging and ribbon traditions. Other states have discarded the blue, red and white ribbons, but Cornell and New York have also completely re-invented youth judging at the State Fair – by allowing judges to act more like benevolent mentors.

The theme running through this year’s State Fair 4-H programs is “Take a Closer Look – 4-H Science and Technology.” In explaining the project’s process, rather than only the final product, the youth absorb more from the Fair, said Mike Clare, Cornell state fair 4-H program coordinator. “The youth will explain how they overcame problems and challenges, while the judges can expand the youth’s experience,” he said.