Visit 1915-style DuPage 'Country Fair'

Step back in time over Labor Day weekend to celebrate the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's centennial with a 1915 Country Fair that includes games, acrobatic jugglers, a genuine flea circus, horse-drawn wagon rides and other entertainment.

"Experience an old-fashioned Country Fair as it was the year the forest preserve district was established 100 years ago," said Forest Preserve District Commissioner Al Murphy, District 6.

Festivities run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5 and 6, at Kline Creek Farm, 1N600 County Farm Road, West Chicago.

Delight in the sights and sounds of the world's only kalliorgel (a hand-cranked instrument), Professor Marvel's Amazing Flea Circus, the Amazing Budabi Brothers and Dr. John Alexander MacRae's Tent of Wonders. Test your skills and compete for prizes in the games tent, or have a souvenir portrait taken in period attire.

In celebration of the forest district's centennial, this year's Country Fair also will feature inventions and technologies from 1915, such as the telephone, phonograph, generator and electric light. A women's venue explores women's suffrage in Illinois and the role it played in establishing the county's first forest preserves.

"In many areas like DuPage County, most residents arranged their calendars around the county fair, whether they were farmers or not," said Forest Preserve District of DuPage County President Joe Cantore.

Admission to this all-ages fair is free, but there are fees for some activities. For information, visit the "Country Fair" Web page and photo gallery at dupageforest.org or call (630) 876-5900.