Woodstock Wannabes and Cloverbuds 4H Club

08/16/2026

Congratulations to club leader Chris Stebbins on her induction into the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame yesterday at the state fair. A well-deserved recognition! (The video is difficult to hear because of the noise in the building so the transcript follows.)

“Christine Stebbins has been a passionate advocate for agriculture, education, and community service for more than four decades. A Michigan farm native and former 4‑H member, she built a distinguished career in agricultural journalism before becoming a dedicated 4‑H volunteer in McHenry County for 28 years. As founder of the Woodstock Wannabes 4‑H Club, she has guided hundreds of youth through hands‑on learning, leadership, and service. Her work with the 4‑H Foundation, Food Shed Co‑op, and Northern Illinois Food Bank reflects her lifelong commitment to empowering young people and strengthening her community.”

Congratulations Chris!

08/16/2026

Congratulations to the Woodstock Wannabes state fair delegates who took the Illinois State Fair by storm and represented McHenry County extremely well with your amazing projects. Congratulations to our grand champion winners:

Woodstock Wannabes, Passport to the World (Australia), Group: Grand Champion
Cody Aitken
Lily Balentyne
Amelia Barth
Penny Barth
Everett Fritch
Gia Galli
Maddy Kamp
McKenna McAdow
Myla McAdow
Arianna Richer

Individual
Cody Aitken, Cooking-Sweet Rolls: Grand Champion
Lily Balentyne, Carbon, Chalk, Pigment: State Fair Delegate
Amelia Barth, Paper-2D: Grand Champion
Penny Barth, Beginning Visual Programming: Grand Champion
Everett Fritch, Open Source Computer Science: Grand Champion
Gia Galli, Passport to the World, Individual: Grand Champion
Maddy Kamp, Carbon, Chalk, Pigment: State Fair Delegate
McKenna McAdow, Cooking-Tea Ring: Inspire Award
Grace Mitchell, Family Heritage: Grand Champion
Arianna Richer, Clothing Embellishment Stitched: Grand Champion
Chloe Vanderstappen, Sewing 1-Non-Clothing: State Fair Delegate
Emma Vanderstappen, Sewing 3 Clothing: Grand Champion

08/12/2026

Congratulations to Emma Vanderstappen, a McHenry County 4-H ambassador and member of the Woodstock Wannabes 4-H club, who was awarded a McHenry County 4-H Youth Foundation scholarship during the county fair last week for her 4-H achievements. She’s an amazing seamstress and artist who is headed to Columbia College Chicago this fall majoring in fashion studies. She is thankful for all her 4-H experiences—especially the opportunity of learning to sew and uncovering her passion for it. Her parents, Andrew and Cynthia Vanderstappen, joined Emma at the fair when she was awarded the scholarship.

08/10/2026

A few pictures from 4-H Awards night last Thursday at the McHenry County Fair. Congratulations to all our club members and our club leader for another fantastic year! And a shout out to club dad Brian McAdow on being selected as the first ever King of the Fair.

08/03/2026

Congratulations to Woodstock Wannabes & Cloverbuds 4-H club leader Chris Stebbins on being named to the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame. She will be inducted later this month at the Illinois State Fair.

Chris founded the 4-H club 28 years ago as a city club focused primarily on general projects. A lifelong supporter of 4-H she believes the program provides youth the opportunities to learn by doing and helping them discover their passions. As a result, several of our club alumni have gone on to earn their doctorates in engineering, the sciences and humanities, working in biotech, the environment and for federal agencies. Others have successful careers in the film & tv industry, government, finance and communications or have started their own businesses. Four of our members had been selected as Little Miss Woodstock, three of them consecutively. All helped and supported over the years by a remarkable group of parents.

Besides leading the Woodstock Wannabes & Cloverbuds, Chris currently serves as a board member of the McHenry County 4-H Youth Foundation.

Congratulations Chris on this well deserved honor!

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1472062641626187&id=100064673952509

Congratulations to Christine Stebbins, on being selected for induction into the 2026 Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame! Thank you for all that you have done for McHenry County 4-H!

07/03/2026

Woodstock Wannabes getting ready for fair judging at the McHenry County Fair, Aug. 4-9. Members brought some of their projects to our last meeting before the fair to show or taste. First-time exhibitors were able to practice judging with our more experienced 4-H members. Hope to see you all at the fair - it will be a blast!

05/08/2026

Thanks Food Shed for providing your community space for our 4-H meeting and food scavenger hunt this week.

We had a blast finding and learning about different food ingredients to make our oatmeal raisin cookies.

05/05/2026

Woodstock Wannabes had a great time filling Macyn’s Jars with fidget toys, a community service project to help kids in the hospital.