The Berrien County Youth Fair hosts an open house 6:30 p.m. Thursday for first-time exhibitors.

“We don’t want anyone to feel intimidated or overwhelmed about entering an exhibit at the fair, so we’re offering this open house to walk kids and their parents through the process,” said Karen Klug, fair secretary and entry office chairperson.

The free open house is at the Berrien County Youth Fair in the Youth Memorial building and begins with a  short orientation program with information on where to get exhibitor handbooks and entry forms, deadlines and how to fill out entry forms and entry tags.

“Participants will learn about documentation entry requirements that may be necessary, such as registration papers, identification numbers, and health regulations,” said Lana Stover-Henderson said. “Each animal species is different, and superintendents for each animal building will be on hand to answer specific questions.”

The open house includes information on animal exhibitsas well as exhibits in floral, horticulture, home economics and crafts.

Entry-day procedures will be explained, and future exhibit clinics for many divisions will be announced

Registration deadlines to know include June 1, large animals; July 1, small animals; Aug. 1 still exhibits.

Handbooks are available online, at the fair office and all public libraries in Berrien County.

Entry forms are available at the libraries and the fair office. Youths ages 5 to 20 can exhibit in all areas at the fair.  Age is determined as of January first of the current year.

For more information, see www.bcyf.org or call the fair office at (269) 473-4251.