State Fair of Texas youth livestock events will be held despite the fair being canceled this year

DALLAS - A very important part of the State Fair of Texas, at least for thousands of young people, will go on even though this year’s fair was canceled.

The revised 2020 youth livestock market events will be spread out over 10 days, rather than the normal six days of events.

The events started Wednesday, September 23, and go until Friday, October 2, in Fair Park, concluding with the annual Big Tex Youth Livestock Auction on the last day.

Usually lambs and market goats are at the same time, but now they're doing each animal species separately.

A junior from Grandview, 16-year-old Callie Welty, said she's happy that as an industry, they wear masks, because that means she can continue to show her animals.

She added that she gets so much out of events like this.

"One thing that I've really learned is not only the friendships, but the connections and the relationships you get to meet, with the higher level people that are, maybe, professors, maybe the leaders of the specific stock shows that I go to, but I'm able to connect with the people - the announcers that work the ring - and they get to know my name, I get to know their name, and maybe if I need an internship in the future, I know to go to them and they know a familiar face to work with," Welty explained.

She missed two shows this spring, but was able to do dozens of virtual shows all over the world with her sheep.

For those virtual shows, students would tape a 30-60 second video showing the animal, and then it would be judged.