County fairs contribute to local economies

Charlotte Roberts, 4-H member of Chain of Lakes 4-H club and Teen Ambassador, represented Lake County at the annual meeting of the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs. Roberts, along with several teens from the Lake County 4-H program, collected surveys from the 2014 attendees of the Lake County Fair.

At the annual meeting held in January, the board members heard the results of the Economic Impact of Illinois Agricultural Fairs study conducted in the summer of 2014. The study, conducted by the University of Illinois Extension, in partnership with the IAAF, included surveys of nearly 5,000 fair attendees across the state, in addition to input from 33 key informant interviews.

The study reports $170 million was spent as a result of the 104 fairs in Illinois. In addition, key informant interviews revealed that these fairs contribute to the culture, unity and tradition of the communities they serve. County fair boards across the state are addressing challenges, but the economic and social impact is significant throughout Illinois.

Beyond the economic impact, the study revealed that county fairs provide many benefits to the community that are not related to economic gains: family-friendly entertainment, education about agriculture, opportunities for local organizations to get involved, traditional community events, fundraising for local groups and unique entertainment opportunities.

The primary challenges that county fairs face today include lack of state funding, keeping youth involved, competing with other summer activities, declining contributions from local agriculture and limited volunteers.

The study was conducted at 15 fairs across the state, with surveys being collected by 4-H youth under the supervision of Extension staff, and key informant interviews conducted by Alex Norr, a graduate student from the University of Illinois Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

For more information on the report, contact Carrie McKillip at mckillip@illinois.edu or (309) 342-5108.

For more information on how to get involved in 4-H, contact the University of Illinois Extension Lake County office at (847) 223-8627 or Cindy Sarkady, Extension Educator, at csarkady@illinois.edu or Sabrina Huley, 4-H coordinator, at huley@illinois.edu.

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