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December 14, 2012

Velma Holiday Classic comes to Fair & Expo Center

DUNCAN — Things might be getting a bit “hog wild” for Velma students Saturday.

The annual Velma Holiday Classic is returning to the Stephens County Fair & Expo Center, with set up on Friday and the event starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, lasting most of the day.

“We’ll have people come in from all over the state,” Jamie Davies, Velma-Alma agriculture teacher, said. “There will be people from the Tulsa area and Altus.”

Davies said the turnout for the event is usually large. The last few years, there has been about 300 head of hog for the event.

He said the event, as with other livestock shows, is a good teaching tool for his agriculture and FFA students. It provides them with experience.

“Livestock shows in general are important. It teaches them life skills and responsibilities,” Davies said. “It gives them an opportunity to apply the skills they learned in the classroom.”

Davies said the students have spent a lot of time working with their animals. Shows give them a way for their hard work to pay off.

The Velma Holiday Classic is also the Velma FFA’s primary fundraiser. A portion of the money raised does go toward awards for the winners and other expenses, but the rest of the money goes toward the local chapter of the organization.

While this event has been around for several years, it has undergone some changes in the past few years. In 2009, a goat section was added to the show.

This year will return to the organization’s more traditional holiday show by only featuring a swine competition.

“The numbers on our goat show weren’t good enough,” Davies said. “This is a fundraiser for them. And they weren’t making money on the goat show.”

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