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Photograph by Pat Crowe II
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Brooke and Alexis Moore hope to be living high on the hog after the Delaware State Fair July 19-28. The sisters, both Kent County 4-H members, will show their most recent crop of oinkers at the fair’s Market Hog competition on July 23.
Brooke (background, a seventh-grader at Smyrna Middle School, has raised and shown pigs for six years. The goal is to have her hogs make the Livestock Extravaganza—a show reserved for the cream of the crop—where they could win grand champion or reserve champion before being soldÊ for a tidy profit at the fair’s Junior Livestock Auction.
According to mom Connie Moore, Brooke, 13, has accumulated quite a little nest egg over the years. Alexis (right), a pre-K student at The Little School in Dover, is hoping to fatten her own piggy bank.
The Moore sisters prefer the Hampshire breed, which is black with a white belt around the middle. Brooke also favors spotted pigs because they resemble Appaloosa horses, which the family shows up and down the East Coast. This year, Alexis raised three pigs, including a Blue Butt, a Yorkshire Hampshire cross that produces a white hog with patches of blue.
The girls have experienced important life lessons through their pig projects. “We learn something new every time we go to the barn,” says Connie. “We had one pig last year who shook his head and broke a vessel in his ear. It swelled up and he had to have surgery. We had to take special care of him all summer, but Brooke won grand champion with that pig at the fair.”
The 88th annual fair opens July 19 with a free preview night. This year’s events will include the traditional demolition derbies and a monster truck show. Other grandstand shows include “An Evening with Bill Cosby,” “An Evening of Doo Wop,” and concerts by country music stars Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley.
For more, visit www.delawarestatefair.com or call 398-5020 or (866) 335-3247.ÊÊ —Drew Ostroski
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Venturing Fourth
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Whether your perfect July 4 involves fireworks over the ocean, thrilling to the patriotic tunes of a brass band, or a three-legged-race on the beach, there’s something for all tastes this Independence Day. In Newark, Liberty Day features crafting stalls, flea markets and children’s game booths on the University of Delaware campus from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m., followed by a fireworks display near Delaware Stadium at dusk. If parades are your bag, catch Bethany Beach’s 4th of July Parade at noon, then a pie-eating competition at 2 p.m. and fireworks in the evening. In Dover, First State Heritage Park venues will offer special activities such as a reenactment of the life of Caesar Rodney. There will be walking tours like the Revolutionary Dover tour and the Passage to Freedom tour, which highlights sites used by the Underground Railroad. At 6 p.m. there will be a parade starting at Hazel Road, followed by music and fireworks later in the evening. Lewes will offer children’s games on Second Street all day, an afternoon boat parade on the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal and a three-legged race. In Rehoboth Beach, a brass band will entertain from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Bandstand. Then Rehoboth’s renowned fireworks display will begin. Bring a wireless radio to enjoy the 25-minute musical medley that has been choreographed to match the display. After the fireworks The Funsters will keep the party rolling.ÊÊÊÊÊ —Helen Jardine
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Brew Heaven
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It’s American Beer Month, so fans of craft brews will want to visit Newark July 23 for the annual Food and Brew Festival. Beginning at noon, local restaurants such as Caffé Gelato, Cucina di Napoli, The Deer Park Tavern, Klondike Kate’s, Grotto Pizza Blue Hen Sports Den, Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant, and more will offer special selections of handmade beers from across the country—as well as tastings and tutorials on the brewer’s art—along with dining specials on dishes designed especially for the beers.ÊÊ —Helen Jardine
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That’s the Spirit
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Ghosts aren’t for Halloween only. Just ask author Ed Okonowicz. An expert who specializes in the spirits of Fort Delaware, Okonowicz leads candlelit ghost tours at the fort. He says many people often get the wrong idea of what the tours are all about. “It’s storytelling, not ghost hunting,” he says. “It’s not fright night. It’s about history and folklore.” This month’s tours leave the dock in Delaware City at 6.30 p.m. on July 6 and July 13. The 150-minute tour guides the audience through haunted sites attached to historic events. Though the focus is on the Civil War period, there are tales about contemporary hauntings in Delaware City. Okonowicz and fellow guide Dan Citron focus on places where there have been sightings or unexplainable activity. Citron says the most goose-bump inducing experience occurred in the fort’s kitchen. “A woman on the tour took a picture in the old kitchen, and then when she examined the photo, there was this apparition standing there,” Citron says. For more information, call the fort office at 834-7941.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ—Helen Jardine
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If you feared missing “Pop Art and Its Affinities” before it closed at The Philadelphia Museum of Art this month, fear not. The exhibit of work by important figures such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg has been extended throughÊ summer. Pop art has a large audience because of its simple commentary on American consumerism, meaning you don’t have to be especially artsy to enjoy it. There is a sense of humor about the exhibit because it draws on things from everyday life. For more, call the museum at (215) 763-8100.ÊÊÊ —Helen Jardine
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