Stutsman County 4-H youth shine at clothing revue contest

Eleven Stutsman County 4-H members brought sewing, design and presentation skills to Edgewood Living Center in Jamestown, where the county’s 2026 Clothing Revue Contest highlighted youth work in front of judges, helpers and residents.

The April 26 contest featured entries in three categories, though no one competed in Sew & Show this year. Kathryn Hetletvedt and Brenda Jarski-Weber judged the event, with Tom Hetletvedt, Martha Bjorgaard and Sandy Sodawasser assisting. The lineup reflected a strong showing from local youth, with 11 participants taking part.

In Buy & Show, Payson Lueck was named Junior Grand Champion. Leah Hetletvedt earned Senior Grand Champion honors for a long white dress with black polka dots, and Logan Kolschefsky was Senior Reserve Champion in an all-black suit. The category fit the broader State 4-H Clothing Revue format described by North Dakota State University Extension, which includes Buy & Show, Sew & Show and Decorate Your Duds.

That same focus on practical learning showed up in Decorate Your Duds, where participants used clothing as a canvas for personal style and craftsmanship. Eli Lee was Junior Reserve Champion with a hand-painted Jack Skellington T-shirt. Kennedy Schlecht earned Junior Grand Champion honors for handmade MPB Thunder jeans and a sweatshirt. In the senior division, Cadence Gordon was Grand Champion for a hand-painted gray sweatshirt featuring a dinosaur design, and Markell Lueck took Reserve Champion with jeans decorated with dog-inspired images.

The contest’s value ran deeper than ribbons. NDSU Extension says the State 4-H Clothing Revue is designed to help youth build self-confidence and poise while making or modeling a needed garment and sharing what they learned through 4-H. In Stutsman County, that means young people get practice with sewing, outfit coordination, public presentation and handling feedback in a competitive setting.

Holding the contest at Edgewood Living Center also gave the event an added community connection. The setting linked 4-H members with residents in a place that sits outside the usual fairground or classroom routine, keeping youth programming visible in Jamestown and across Stutsman County. It also fit a local pattern: the clothing revue has been held at the Stutsman County Fairgrounds and at the NDSU Extension Stutsman County office in earlier years, showing a continuing county tradition built around hands-on learning and public presentation.