Each year, right before the gates to the Haywood County Fair open to the public, the event reveals its special attractions to two select groups of people from our community: local fourth graders and area senior citizens.
“For me, it’s a full circle moment to get to offer this to our community. I attended ‘4th Grade Day’ as a fourth grader, and now I get to run it for today’s fourth graders,” said Sally Dixon, county extension director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. “It’s so important to connect our young people to our agricultural heritage. And it’s also a great community outreach from N.C. Cooperative Extension.”
This go-round, the free-of-charge “4th Grade Day” will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24. In past years, over 550 fourth graders from local schools were involved in the event, with around 620 expected to attend in 2026. To note, Dixon is also part of the 4-H Youth Development for the NCCE.
