DuPage Co. Fair goes high-tech

Exhibiting at the DuPage County Fair just got oh-so-much easier.

Forget the paperwork.

Forget the phone calls.

The fair has gone high-tech. Or at least it's entered the 21st century because officials moved entries, registration and other exhibitor-related information online.

And luckily for exhibitors, that means they've got some extra time to get their information together. Mailed entries needed a postmark of midnight Monday.

Information submitted online isn't due until July 1.

Human nature being what it is, officials are expecting an onslaught of electronic entries right before the deadline, registration co-chairman Stephen Haas said.

In years past, when entries for events -- ranging from animal competitions to the best Bundt cake -- arrived in the office, they were manually typed into a computer program.

Whenever an exhibitor needed extra parking passes or tickets, that was handled through individual phone calls.

With more than 800 entries each year for the fair in Wheaton, that made for a lot of typing and phoning, Haas said.

The fair needed to get a new computer entry program this year, and officials decided to combine that with one that permitted online access.

Now, after exhibitors register, they can log back in and check to make sure they're included in the right category, have the right number of parking and entry passes and are all paid up on fees, Haas explained.

This year's fair is scheduled for July 23 to 27.