Lake Co. fair book moves online

The Lake County Fair may be a long-standing celebration of agriculture but there's always room for more green.

For the first time, the annual fair book will be available online for would-be fairgoers to browse or print their specific interest. Hard copies of what is a keepsake for some will be available as always, but in much-reduced quantities.

"It's going to cut down on our printing costs. Online is the way to go now," said Ryan Boesch, an office staffer, who suggested the idea, which officials say will save about $4,000.

The fair in past years ordered about 3,000 books a year, a substantial volume that include detailed listings of activities and other information regarding the summer event.

This year, only 1,000 will be ordered and mailing lists are being scoured to eliminate wasted paper.

"There's always so many left over," Boesch said.

The books have been and will continue to be free of charge.

While an obvious part of a movement to save natural resources and staff time, it is not the fair's first online venture.

Last year, the first online entry system for everything from the animal showing to baking was introduced. The showing was adequate but not overwhelming as 1,933 of 9,042 entries were submitted online.

"We had a decent response but we'd like to have more," Boesch said. "In the past, it had all been paper and entered in by hand."

Exhibitors again are being urged to use the paperless forms. He said the fair book should be available online by early May at lcfair.net.

The 81st annual Lake County Fair will be held July 28 to Aug. 2. The exhibition center has been open for other events, but construction continues on other buildings, including those to house animals during the fair.

This year's edition will be the first at the fair's new $20 million home near Peterson and Midlothian roads after more than half a century at the old fairgrounds, routes 120 and 45. Both are in Grayslake.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.lakecountyfairassoc.com/page001.aspx">Lake Co. Fair home page</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>