‘Bring lots of water’: Kane County Fair exhibitors beat the heat with fans, shade and ice cream

The cattle at the Kane County Fair knew what to do on Thursday to handle the high heat.

Find a shady spot. Lie down. Stay still.

But of course, their human handlers were working up a sweat while caring for and showing them.

As temperatures reached the mid-90s by Thursday afternoon and smoke from wildfires hung in the air, exhibitors from 4-H clubs, show judges and a fair official revealed how they cope.

“It is what it is,” fair director Larry Breon said. “If I could snap my fingers and have the bad weather go away, I would.”

Breon noted that fair visitors can catch some relief by going into several air-conditioned exhibition halls, including the one that hosts the 4-H contests for vegetables, crafts, baking, artwork and more.

“Dress light. Bring lots of water. Come visit the barns, because they are shaded and they do have fans,” suggested Megan Seiling of Hampshire, a dairy cattle judge.

Seiling noted that cattle clump together to ward off pesky flies. So the fans are used not just to cool them down, but to keep the flies at bay. She said deeper bedding packs draw heat and moisture from the cattle’s bodies.

She said they may have it a little better at the fair than at their homes, because they are in the shade of the open-walled barns and there are always fans blowing on them.

Ping, a Brown Swiss heifer hanging out in a barn, was relaxing the entire time a reporter interviewed the Kralka sisters of Burlington. Sophia, Felicity and Genevieve were there to help their cousins take care of Ping, Ping’s twin Pong, and Tool.

“I think they are kind of lazy,” Sophia Kralka said of the heifers’ behavior in the heat.

“They seem a lot lazier today,” agreed Felicity Kralka.

Over at the horse barns, superintendent Jim Feuerborn of Campton Hills said the horses were able to do a showmanship contest (where exhibitors walk with their horses, instead of riding them) in the shade this year because they used a barn, where stalls had been removed, rather than the open ring.

The judges gave riders a break: They weren’t required to wear their dress coats or chaps.

He also handed out a flyer explaining how to cool a hot horse down: Hose them with cold water, then quickly scrape the water off. Repeat that, again and again, until the water on their coat is finally cool.

And then there are the human animals.

The kids working at the 4-H ice cream stand get to work in an air-conditioned space because of the ice cream. They expect to be busy.

“Last year, when we were scooping, there was a heat wave,” said David Sass of Elgin, adding that 400 people bought ice cream in one day.

How to stay cool?

“Ice cream. Eat lots of ice cream,” said Christian Lewis of West Chicago.

At $3 per generous serving, “it is the best value at the fair for ice cream,” Paul Sass, David’s older brother, said. (And, if you accidentally drop your cone, they’ll give you a free replacement.)

The Kane County Fair continues through Sunday at the fairgrounds, 525 S. Randall Road.

Next week, the DuPage County Fair will run from July 23 to July 26 in Wheaton.

The Lake County Fair is July 29 to Aug. 2 in Grayslake, and the McHenry County Fair is Aug. 4 to Aug. 9 in Woodstock.