Mothers and daughters enjoy time in the fair spotlight

"Everybody tells us we look alike," said Dawn Stauss of Hebron as she laughed with her daughter Carissa at the McHenry County Fair in Woodstock Thursday evening.

"Even a waiter in a restaurant today said so," Carissa chimed in. "That's why we did it."

What they did was laugh and pose in sync in patriotic colors to win the annual Mother/Daughter Look-alike Contest in the heart of the fairgrounds.

Seventeen pairs of hopefuls stood before a crowd full of mostly other family members while fair Vice President Rich Tobias asked for audience applause to eliminate contestants through three rounds.

The Stausses' supporters made enough noise that Tobias quipped, "Who's left in Hebron?"

"We've never done anything like this," Dawn said. "But it was a lot of fun."

Norah Johnson, of Woodstock, who is only 21 months old, continually scrambled from the stage to her family in the audience while her mother, Louise, calmly brought her back to the competition line again and again. Eventually the pair won second place.

"I think we might do it again next year," Louise said.