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DuPage County Fair shows off residents' unsung talents

For many who visit the DuPage County Fair each summer, it's a chance to step away from the fast-paced life of the suburbs for a few hours into the slower rhythms of rural life.

Visitors to the fairgrounds along Manchester Road in Wheaton can check out the livestock, watch a live rodeo and even participate in “Country Day” activities on Saturday.

But what makes the annual fair, which opens Wednesday and runs through Sunday, really special is not just that down-home atmosphere.

What really makes the annual celebration special is that it gives many residents a chance to show off what they're really good at, whether it be cooking or drawing or singing, or just about anything else, says Jim McGuire, manager of the DuPage County Fair Association.

“It's all about showing off talents, with the community challenging each other to do better,” McGuire said.

The various competitions, he said, are what separate the fair from the many community festivals that dot DuPage over the summer.

Such contests, he said, “have kept fairs occurring for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

True, many of those contests have changed over time, but the spirit of the competition remains.

“People take it very seriously,” McGuire said. “They want to be the very best and be the grand champion.”

For younger residents, for example, there's a DuPage County High School Art Contest, with the top 12 finishers having their work displayed at this week's fair. The artists worked in a variety of mediums, from woodworking to ceramics to quiltmaking.

A baking competition is another popular contest, with even McGuire's wife entering in past years, making a prizewinning poundcake.

This year's contest will be a Gold Medal Flour Cookie Contest, with cookies of any style, size or shape open to judging.

For singers, the fair is offering a karaoke night, with the top three finishers getting an award.

“We have all kinds of opportunities,” McGuire says.

And, of course, there's a talent contest at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Entertainment Stage that will feature singers, dancers, comedians, tumblers and magicians.

This year's fair also will feature traditional activities such as a rodeo and demolition derby, along with a performance Thursday night by Wheaton native Michael Lynch, a former contestant on TV's “The Voice.”

Perhaps the most eye-catching activity of the week will feature Ryan Christenson, a graffiti and mural artist from Connecticut, who will be painting a mural on the 164-foot-long grandstand wall during the five-day fair.

The DuPage County Fair offers city slickers a chance to experience rural life, but organizers say what really sets it apart is its many competitions. Daily Herald file photo
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