Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
One of the fastest growing and most popular events at the Wood County Fair is the Ring of Dreams, which will host its fourth annual show on Aug. 6 inside the Pratt Pavilion Show Arena at 5 p.m.
The show allows individuals ages five and up with developmental disabilities to show an animal in a good, fun environment while making friendships with their mentors. The Wood County version of the event was inspired by a similar one at the Henry County Fair.
In the event’s inaugural year in 2023, it featured 43 participants and 35 mentors. Those numbers have ticked upwards to include 90 participants and 76 mentors this year, which means they’ve more than doubled participation from its inception.
Amanda Barndt, who created the show and manages it each year, said word of mouth has really helped the event’s growth. In fact, she played in a volleyball league this past year with the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities. It was a four-week program where they played one night per week.
During that league, she said there was a lot of talk about the event, and those who participated told their teammates, their friends, their roommates, their siblings, etc. about it.
“We were really able to expand pretty quickly just through that,” Barndt said. “The word of mouth is what really does it for us. They really enjoyed it, and we've been able to capitalize on that. It's a pretty laid-back show. It's not intended to be more work, but it is really rewarding to everybody.”
Participants will have six options to show this year, including lambs, goats, beef feeders, chickens, rabbits and pigs. Bowling Green High School’s FFA advisor Stephanie Conway is back as a judge, and Eastwood’s FFA teacher Jerry Swartz returns to help as a second rabbit judge.
This year, Barndt said they’re putting banners up on all of the mentor pens at the Fair, which she said will add to the excitement.
“They'll all get to really show off that this is something they help with,” she said. “Then we also went with a t-shirt company out of Napoleon called 4A Creative. They employ individuals with developmental disabilities. They cut us a heck of a deal, and they employ incredible people.”
Each participant receives a picture frame from Falcon Outfitters, medals provided by Barndt's family and t-shirts. They’ll also receive coupons for a slushie, lemonade and a sandwich, which are all things that make for a memorable, cost-free day, Barndt said.
The Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities is once again sponsoring the day on Aug. 6, which is titled Let Your Abilities Shine Day. From 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the focus will be on inclusion, accessibility and fun.
There will be balloon magic with Sheriff Stretch, a mini barn animal petting zoo, inclusive activities in the large tent at entrance B, a friendly ride experience from noon to 1 p.m., a sensory room, a universal changing station and free fair admission for individuals served by any County Board of Developmental Disabilities and their support staff.
For anyone interested in attending, Barndt recommends coming early as the stands have been packed the last couple of years, and with increased participation, she expects even more of a crowd this year.
Ring of Dreams Experience
Last year, Barndt helped create the Ring of Dreams Experience, which gives out sponsorships or scholarships to 4-H members to help sponsor their project. She said they gave out six this year, and they took their participant along with them for the summer.
That group includes (mentor former, participant latter): Emma Reid and Bobby Lawson (pig), Hunter Swartz and Tammy Waddington (rabbit), Olivia Violi and George Stauch (goat), Evelyn Souvenier and Nicole Benschoter (goat), Lizzie Henning and Samantha Sisco (rabbit) and Ryleigh Perry and Ryan Gardner (rabbit).
“The participants have gone out to the farms five times this summer to work together to learn a little bit more,” Barndt said. “I have them fill out a sheet and basically they have to tell me one thing they've learned or worked on together each time that they're together. Whether that's brushing the animal, if that's washing the animal, if that's feeding the animal, if that's mucking pens or if that's just learning some basic information about the animals — whatever that looks like, they've at least learned something together, and that's been a really enjoyable piece that we were able to add.”
Barndt said that money exists because of the generous sponsorships throughout the year. In turn, it allows them to give it back to the 4-H'ers in means of a scholarship towards their project.
