The days of yore

Every fall, visitors come to Lakewood Forest Preserve to see farm-related attractions.

Hundreds of antique vehicles will parade through the grounds. There will be farm animals to feed, scarecrows to build and sheep to be herded.

It is the same formula the Lake County Forest Preserve District has used for the Farm Heritage Fall Festival for the past 14 years.

"The event has been so successful, it has not needed any upgrade," said forest preserve district spokesman Andrew Osborne. "It's always been the same. The people like it like that."

The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Wauconda-area forest preserve on Route 176 west of Fairfield Road.

Osborne said the festival is a celebration of Lake County's agricultural roots.

The forest preserve district works closely each year with the Lake County Farm Heritage Association to celebrate farm life from the turn-of-the-century to the present.

"We want to show the people that Lake County has been a farming community for over 100 years," he said.

Each year, hundreds of tractors, antique cars and farm equipment are brought to the grounds.

"People will bring steam engines. There will be a sawmill running and threshing machine running," Osborne said. "There will be hundreds of antique tractors ranging from garden tractors to huge antique steam engines."

Lately, individuals have not only brought antique vehicles to the event but also modern equipment. Osborne said kids like to see a combine used more than 80 years ago and how one looks today.

"To see the two next to each other puts it in perspective how farming has changed," he said.

At 1:30 p.m. each day, visitors can watch all the equipment parade through the forest preserve's grounds.

The dogs, one of the festival's most popular attractions, will return this weekend. Jim Martin will be back with his dogs to give the sheep-herding demonstration at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. both days.

Martin will talk about how he trains the dogs and how they are used historically to work livestock around the world. He will then demonstrate sheep herding using a dog that recently began training and a seasoned veteran who has won national competitions.

Check out the entertainment stage to hear different musical styles. The lineup will include country western music by Rick Pickren, roots music by Jim Kanas and folk music by Peg Laman.

The festival also will feature many other family attractions including a scarecrow-making contest, model train display and a chance to make rope.