Gallatin County 4-H Annual Events

National 4-H Week is typically the first full week in October each year

Every year Gallatin County 4-H encourages Clubs, Projects and Individuals to show off their 4-H Spirit to our communities during National 4-H Week to help with recruitment and promotion by creating displays in various parts of our community.Historically, these displays have been in the form of window displays usually in a local businesses.

2025 Display Winners

2024 Display Winners

2023 Display Winners

2022 Display Winners

Gallatin County 4-H has the AMAZING opportunity to continue to work MSU Concessions and this has become a GREAT way to raise money for 4-H club/project activities! We commit to events (ex. football, basketball, volleyball, concerts, PowWow, Spring Rodeo) throughout the year as they arise and update the SignUp Genius accordingly.

What does working MSU Concessions entail? All food is made and prepped by MSU Culinary/Concessions staff, 4-H members/parents just simply sell and serve it out of one of the concessions stands on MSU Campus (Stadium or Fieldhouse depending on the event). This is a super easy, fun and quick way to make money for your Clubs/Projects and gain some skills in the service industry! A Stand Leader and MSU Concessions staff will train you on the spot with what you need to know - No experience necessary! 

Depending on the event, the day/time/hours will vary and depending on our concessions stand location, the number of people we will need per game will vary. We will need a combination of youths (minimum age of 10 with parent accompaniment) and teens/adults (ages 15+) to run cash registers.

MSU Concessions SignUp

• Contest Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026 (AM)

  • Registration Opens: January 1, 2026 at 8am
  • Registration Closes: February 2, 2026 at 5pm
  • 2026 Contest Theme: SCONES

• What: The Better Batter Baking contest is an opportunity for 4-H youth members to prepare an appealing, delicious baked good using food safe techniques and present their creation to a panel of judges for tasting.

• Why participate? This experience provides 4-H youth members the opportunity to show off their creativity, practice food preparation skills, become more confident, and discover where they can improve. Contest winners that are ages 8-13 can earn money towards a trip to our annual 4-H Summer Camp and those that are ages 14+ can earn money towards a trip to Montana 4-H State Congress.

• Divisions:
  • Junior (ages 8-10)
  • Intermediate (ages 11-13)
  • Senior (ages 14+)
  • Members can participate individually or as a team with another member.
• Awards:
  • County Contest Awards Night: Thursday, March 5, 2026 @ 6pm

2026 Contest Flyer

Contest Guidelines

Scoring Rubrics

Register HERE

Past Contests:

2026 Participant Recipes

2025 Participant Recipes

2024 Participant Recipes

• Contest Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026 (PM)
  • Registration Opens: January 1, 2026 at 8am
  • Registration Closes: February 2, 2026 at 5pm
  • 2026 Contest Theme: ASIAN CUISINE
• What: Similar to competitions such as "Chopped". Stir-Ups is an opportunity for 4-H youth members to prepare an appealing, nutritious meal using food safe techniques and present their dish to a panel of judges for tasting.
• Why participate? This contest provides 4-H youth members the experience to test their time management, practice food preparation skills, become more confident, and discover where they can improve. Contest winners that are ages 8-13 can earn money towards a trip to our annual 4-H Summer Camp and those that are ages 14+ can earn money towards a trip to Montana 4-H State Congress.
• Divisions:
  • Junior (ages 8-10)
  • Intermediate (ages 11-13)
  • Senior (ages 14+)
  • Members can participate individually or as a team with another member.
• Awards:
  • County Contest Awards Night: Thursday, March 5, 2026 @ 6pm
    

2026 Contest Flyer

Contest Guidelines

Scoring Rubrics

Register HERE

Past Contests:

2026 Participant Recipes

2025 Participant Recipes

2024 Participant Recipes

• Contest Date:Friday, February 27, 2026 (10AM - 6PM)
  • Registration Opens: January 1, 2026 at 8am
  • Registration Closes: February 2, 2026 at 5pm
• Why Participate?: These contests give members the opportunity to practice communication skills, become more confident, gain experience presenting to a small panel of judges, and have some fun! Contest winners that are ages 8-13 can earn money towards a trip to our annual 4-H Summer Camp and those that are ages 14+ can earn money towards a trip to Montana 4-H State Congress.
• Contest categories: Demonstration, Illustrated Talk, Speech (Impromptu or Prepared), Video, Career Communications (job interview), Promotional Package, and Commercial.
• Divisions:
  • Cloverbud (ages 5-7)
  • Junior (ages 8-10)
  • Intermediate (ages 11-13)
  • Senior (ages 14+)
• Awards:
  • County Contest Awards Night: Thursday, March 5, 2026 @ 6pm

Contest Descriptions

2026 Contest Flyer

Register HERE

• When: 
  • Junior Workshop #1: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 6pm-8:30pm
  • Junior Workshop #2: Saturday, March 21, 2026 9am-11:30am

• What: Animal Quality Assurance (AQA) workshops aim to teach youth about proper livestock management practices that can lead to the production of safe, wholesome, high quality food products for consumers and/or long-term care of breeding animals. Topics such as proper care & handling, biosecurity, nutrition, animal health and fair etiquette will be covered in this workshop.

• Montana 4-H policy requires that all youth members enrolled in any animal project complete an AQA workshop at least once as a Junior 4-H member (ages 8-13) and recertify once as a Senior 4-H member (age 14+) in order to particpate at the county fair. Parents are encouraged to attend.
  • Note: this requirement will exclude Cloverbuds and all members in dog and cat projects. 

• **CHANGE in 2026 – Due to the high volume of youth members needing to complete their AQA requirement, Gallatin County 4-H Junior members (4-H ages 8-13) will be required to complete this workshop IN-PERSON (two different dates will be offered). Junior Members only need to attend (1) of the in-person AQA workshop dates to receive credit.

• Senior Members (4-H ages 14+) will instead be required to complete an ONLINE module training to meet their certification requirement. 

2026 Junior (ages 8-13) AQA Workshop RSVP

2026 Senior (ages 14+) Online AQA Instructions

• What:
  • “Rec Lab” stands for Recreation Lab, meaning everything is hands-on, interactive and fun. Montana 4-H hosts a statewide Rec Lab event for teens, but that event is limited to youth ages 13+.
  • In an effort to provide more fun,social, and skill-building opportunities for our younger 4-H members, we are thrilled to host our first county-level Junior Rec Lab designed specifically for youth ages 8–12 (age as of October 1, 2025).
  • Our Junior Rec Lab will expose younger members to what state 4-H events are like, bringing a similar experience in a half-day, age-appropriate format. Youth will build leadership, communication, and teamwork skills while participating in exciting skill-building workshops intended to SPARK new interests!!

  • Participants will choose one workshop per hourwhen registration, giving them the opportunity to attend four different sessionsthroughout the afternoon based on their interests.

• When: 
  • Saturday, May 2, 2026 12:30pm - 5:30pm
  • Annual 4-H Clover Bash Dance (open to all 4-H members) to follow from 6pm-10pm
• Where: Belgrade High School Commons
• Cost: $40 per youth (helps cover workshop materials and food)

2026 Junior Rec Lab Workshop Descriptions

2026 Junior Rec Lab Registration (ZSuite)

• When: 2026 Big Sky Country State Fair 4-H/FFA youth events will be July 10-19, 2026 at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds
• 4-H Members involved in livestock projects compete in various show classes throughout the week. Those who have market animals sell through the Livestock Market Auction on the Friday night of fair week.
• 4-H members in Indoor Projects (ex. photography, sewing, cooking, shooting sports, woodworking ,etc.) can compete in the Indoor Exhibit Building with their creations and skills they learned throughout the year.
• Completing Record Book(s) and Project Interview(s) are both required to participate in the Fair. Interviews are the week before the Fair. More information is sent out May-July each year.

More information on this page

Beef, Sheep, Swine, Goats, Poultry, and Rabbits that are raised by 4-H and FFA youth sold for market.

Friday, July 17, 2026

• Buyer Check-in: 2pm-6pm
• Buyer BBQ: 3pm-6pm
• Auction Begins: 4pm

More information on this page

Buyer Information

• Item Eligibility: Items submitted to the Silent Auction must have been entered in the Fair (by the 4-H/FFA fair registration deadline), judged on Indoor Project Interview Day, and received a ribbon and judging rubric.
  • *New in 2026: To be eligible for the Silent Auction, the item must have received a Red Ribbon or higher. White Ribbon exhibits will not be eligible to sell. Declaring an item for Silent Auction does not guarantee it will sell. Red Ribbon items will be subject to leader review/approval.
• Youth members may select up to 5 items to enter in the Indoor Silent Auction each year.
  • *Cloverbuds (youth members ages 5-7) are not eligible for the Silent Auction.
• Youth will declare their Silent Auction exhibits after indoor judging has concluded. Silent Auction items must be declaredby Tuesday, July 15^th by 1:00pm by moving the selected items to the “Silent Auction” table in the Indoor Building.Bids will be written on bidding sheets. The highest bidders will be contacted by the 4-H Office to pick up items and pay after the conclusion of Fair.
• Youth will receive payment from their items through the Leaders Council after all money is collected from buyers. Auction earnings will be dispersed with Award Premium checks (estimated mid-September).

• When: Typically the last week of July/early August
  • 2026 Camp dates: August 2-5, 2026
  • 2026 Theme:"Trip to Paradise" tropical Luau/Survivor

• Where: Yellowstone Alliance Adventures, located in Cottonwood Canyon outside Bozeman
• Who: Youth ages 8-13 can attend as Campers (age calculated as of Oct. 1st, 2025)
• Cost: 
  • 4-H Youth Members = $275
  • Non-4H Youth = $300
  • Cost includes lodging (3 nights), all meals (Sunday lunch through Wednesday breakfast), workshops/activities and a camp t-shirt!
• Registration OPENS online through ZSuite on June 1st. Registration CLOSES June 30th at 5pm

Camp Information & Registration

Our 4-H Awards Celebration is our annual opportunity to celebrate Gallatin 4-H youth members and our volunteers! We have a program planned to celebrate youth who excelled in their projects this year and did an outstanding job being a part of the community. We will also recognize volunteers who have done some impactful work and who have been a part of our organization for years! You do not need to be receiving an award to be a part of this celebratory evening - Come cheer on your fellow volunteers and youth! 

When: 2026 Awards Celebration date/time TBD at the Bozeman GranTree Inn

• Outstanding Member of the Year Awards: Each year the Gallatin County Foundation gives awards to outstanding 4-H members in the form of scholarships. The 4-H Member of the Year Award Winners are to be recognized for their outstanding achievements in 4-H at our annual awards celebration and are determined off a points-based scoring system. We encourage ANY youth to fill one out – it’s a great way to potentially earn some cash for your 4-H involvement this year! Achievement Journals are scored against each other per age division (Juniors = 4-H ages 8-13 and Seniors = 4-H ages 14+).
  • To be eligible for this award, youth of ANY AGE (8+) can fill out the REVISED Achievement Journal document with the current 4-H year activities and email application to gallatin4h@montana.edu or print and drop off at the Extension office by September 4, 2026 by 5pm.

2026 Awards Night RSVP