Community. Tradition. Agriculture.
As our nation celebrates 250 years of independence this year, we could not miss the opportunity to also celebrate the one event that ties community, tradition, and agriculture all together; the fair! Camp ROAR 2026 honed in on the phrase “More than a Midway”, educating campers on all different facets of the fair, whether it be the local county fair or the state fair. We even had two campers, Grace Herb and Mattie Fountain, speak on a panel to share the unique experiences they have with their county fairs.
The schedule each day was packed with meaningful experiences from sun up to sun down. Industry tours, workshops, competitions and at the close of each evening, we ended our day in small groups for a time of devotion.
Industry Tours
We dedicated time on Monday and Tuesday during camp to travel around the state and learn tips on animal and plant care as well as history.
On Monday we traveled down to Okeechobee where we first stopped at the Larson Family’s show barn. There we met up with Mrs. Danielle Larson and Lily Larson, who travel all over the nation, even internationally, showing and judging livestock, specifically everyone’s favorite floppy-eared cattle; brahman. The pair gave campers insight on showmanship skills and feed regimens as well as touching on fair involvement. Mrs. Danielle shared “your county fair should not be your cattles first fair”, encouraging young exhibitors to travel with their cattle getting them used to travel, barns, noise, etc.
From their barn we headed just a little south to Faith Farms, a rehabilitation campus with an impressive goat herd! Starting in 2022 with just 7 goats, the campus now has over 80 boer goats. It is safe to say the kids were a huge hit! Who doesn’t love a baby goat? Will, one of the caretakers on site, shared with us signs to look for in your goats as they prepare to birth and overall maintenance of your herd.
To close out the day we loaded the bus and trekked to Zolfo Springs to Rising J Ranch. There Moriah and Jobe Johns educated us on another event that happens at all fairs: the rodeo! The couple has traveled all over the nation as Jobe competes in team roping. In just one summer they traveled to 19 states and Canada! We learned how rodeos originated, tips to look for when purchasing a new horse, and tricks to roping for beginners.
Since Monday focused on livestock exhibition for fairs, Tuesday focused all on the plant and crop side. We started our day just right behind Warner’s campus with Mr. Young at Lake Buffum Farms. Mr. Young sells some of his crops to a local company, The Pickle Patch, where the vegetables go from his farm to a pickled jar on the grocery store shelf to your kitchen pantry. Campers learned about the canning process and even got to pick their own cucumbers at the close of the tour! Many of which used free time later that night to make their own pickles.
We then loaded the bus and headed to Lithia where we toured Magic Greens Plant Nursery. From seedlings to propagation, the tour covered all the steps to take to ensure your plants remain healthy for the fair and can bring the highest dollar at the auction. Even better, when it was time to travel to our next tour site, a trailer showed up full of beautiful plants for campers to pick from to start their fair plant for free! What an incredible experience and generous offer from our friends at Magic Greens.
To close out our Camp ROAR 2026 Industry Tours, the team at The Florida State Fair welcomed us with open arms. Did you know that the Florida State Fair has been held in Tampa for 123 years? We learned everything about the great state fair, from the history to the business side and even all the museums on site, like the infamous Cracker Country.
Thank you to all who opened their “gates” to Camp ROAR 2026 to make this venture possible, your insights were truly impactful to both campers and staff members.
Roar Wars
Though camp themes and tours may change each year, one thing will always remain: Roar Wars! Nightly competitions to see which team will take home the title “Grand Champion”.
Sunday | The Ultimate Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
Monday | Kiddie Pool Kickball
Tuesday | The Good Ole County Fair
Wednesday | Champion of Champions
The Good Ole County Fair was made up of six stations where teammates had to split up into smaller teams to work together to race the clock. Pie eating contest, sheep shearing, wrangling ducks in a row, popcorn passes, shaking our tail feathers and pig relays: you name it, we did it!
Blue Ribbon Workshops
Every night, after our friendly competitions of Roar Wars concluded, students separated into their Blue Ribbon Workshops. The point of these activities was for students to work together as team members and gain new skills for projects they can later submit to their respective fairs. Over the course of four rotations campers made their own strawberry jam, created beautiful quilting squares using foam boards, designed and made tie blankets or pillows, and as a team, decorated hay bales! … Because you can’t have a county fair without decorated hay bales!
Grand Stand Presentations
Each year at Camp ROAR we designate time for campers to break off with their team and dive into all that they learned that day. By the end of camp, the teams give Camp ROAR summary presentations, sharing what their largest take aways were. This year we changed it up and challenged students to identify common areas of improvement they would like to see at their home fairs. Once the area was agreed upon, they then discussed solutions or ideas they all had that could be implemented. Lastly, students were encouraged to research who they needed to speak with to share their ideas and solutions with. At the close of camp, each group took time to share with others what they learned and came up with. We are so excited to see how these young adults step up and become more involved with committees.
Nightly Devotion
Warner University is proud to be a higher education institution rooted in faith. In the planning process of Camp ROAR this year, the team carved out time each night at the close of the day to spend time in devotion. Everyone broke out into small groups based on gender and school grades and staffers led conversations about faith, family, independence, etc. What a fruitful time! For some campers, this was their first time hearing the Gospel and for others, it made them feel more confident in sharing their faith and testimony with others.
Camp ROAR 2026 was filled with all things community, tradition, and of course, agriculture. The sweetest week and one our staff looks forward to every summer. We are counting down the days for Camp ROAR 2027 already | Mark your calendars: June 6-9 2027.
