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MUSD FFA students hold Ag Fest Preshow Saturday
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If you’re looking for custom-made flower arrangements made on the spot for Mother’s Day, stop by the Manteca Unified School Farm on Saturday between 9 a.m. until noon.

Lathrop High School FFA students will be there to create one-of-a-kind floral creations for you in exchange for modest donations.

That is just one of the highlights of the Ag Fest Preshow, when school District FFA students get a chance to practice “and see what it takes for showing at the fair,” explained Danelle Ariaz, the Ag/Lifeskills/IT Department head at Lathrop High School. She is also advisor of the Rabbit Co-Op and co-advisor of the Sheep//Goat Co-Op as well as the Lathrop FFA Flowers.

In addition to the floral arrangements, there will be plants for sale from the Lathrop High FFA, as well as metal art from East Union FFA, among many other student projects.

Actually, this year will be missing the usual annual San Joaquin County Fair. The event has been a popular venue for FFA and 4-H students to exhibit and show off their animal projects. Their projects are then sold at the auction that follows.

But the show will go on for the FFA and 4-H students throughout the county. On June 17-21, at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds on South Airport Way, these students will be exhibiting their vocational projects, and will be showing and auctioning off their livestock projects as they have done in previous years. Only this time, they will be doing it as part of the new San Joaquin Ag Fest, Junior Show & Auction which is an all-volunteer group.

Expect the usual attractions at the Ag Fest, among them: daily livestock shows, vocational exhibits, food and produce vendors, and auction. Other features during the week will be special events such as Farm to Fork which will be a gourmet evening with area restaurants offering the freshest local ingredients A horse show that will conclude with the Master Showmanship competition will be held as well, along with costume contests, hay bucking and other fun-filled family-oriented happenings.

The Manteca Unified district farm is located in behind the school district administration building on West Louise Avenue, corner of South Airport Way.