[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  HONORING BARBARA AND LOUIS PARREIRA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. DUARTE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 17, 2023

  Mr. DUARTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 20th anniversary 
of the Merced County Spring Fair's Little Hands Exhibit. Merced County 
is a rich agricultural region, providing the world nutritious, healthy, 
and safe food.
  Merced County has celebrated our agricultural heritage, our youth, 
education, and our region since 1890, first as the Miller-Lux Picnic, 
evolving into the Merced County Spring Fair, one of the largest county 
fairs in California.
  Merced County's success would not be possible without the tireless 
work of Barbara and Louis Parreira. For over 70 years, the Parreira's 
have volunteered their agricultural knowledge and know-how to educate 
our youth, establishing the Merced County Spring Fair Little Hands 
Interactive Exhibit with other community leaders.
  Modeled after the Indiana State Fair's exhibit, the Little Hand 
Exhibit debuted in 2004, providing interactive, hands-on, agricultural 
experiences for children between the ages of 2 and 10.
  Since its conception two decades ago, Little Hands has provided 
interactive learning experiences for over 15,000 children annually, 
with a total number of 300,000 unique experiences since its start in 
2004.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the United States House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing Barbara and Louis Parreira's 
efforts in starting Little Hands, their decades of volunteer work, and 
20 years of agricultural education through the Little Hands' exhibit.

                          ____________________