Musical acts return to McHenry County Fair
McHenry County Fair attendees can see TV stars such as TLC's “The Willis Family” and K-9 Crew Trick Dog Show from NBC's “America's Got Talent” at the 68th annual five-day fair in Woodstock.
This year's fair opens Wednesday, Aug. 3, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 7, at 11900 Country Club Road.
The Willis Family (also known as The Willis Clan) is a family band of 12 siblings that started its road to fame on “America's Got Talent” and since 2015 has had a show on TLC. They will perform after country singer/songwriter Caroline Kole at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, in the grandstands.
Caroline Kole and The Willis Clan will be the first concerts the fair has held in 15 years. The McHenry County Fair Association, which had held off on hosting concerts due to a reduction in grandstand seating, decided it was time to bring back more live entertainment.
“To be able to break even we would have had to charge a huge amount (for tickets). We are slowly trying to transition over,” McHenry County Fair Association member Liz Woolridge said. “This is our big step out. We are excited. It's starting out a bit small, but we are hoping to grow as the years come.”
About 75,000 people attend the fair to go on the carnival rides, enjoy the KTM Motocross race or the demolition derby, see which daughter looks most like her mother, participate in the lip sync battle or show off their talents in the talent show.
“You come to the fair because it's an enjoyable time. It's an opportunity to get away and have a nice day out in the sunshine and get some fresh air,” said Rich Tobiasz, vice president of the McHenry County Fair Association.
K-9 Crew Trick Dog Show is also new to the fair. This high-energy canine thrill show became famous through “America's Got Talent” as one of the first animal acts to make it to the top 20 of the talent competition.
“They have energizing music with it while they perform all these different tricks. They try to go through and create new routines,” Woolridge said.
Adding to the tradition of the McHenry County Queen pageant is a princess pageant for girls ages 5-9, Junior Miss McHenry for ages 9-12 and Teen Miss McHenry for ages 13-16.
“We are looking to get girls active around the community and helping others out,” Woolridge said.
Also new this year is the blood drive for Heartland Blood Centers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6.
“Heartland let us know that there was a huge lack in donors, so they have had huge issues with getting blood for emergencies at hospitals. We jumped on board with it thinking it would be a cool thing for us to do,” Woolridge said.
4H, a global network of youth organizations, continues to have a large presence with about 700 members participating in this year's fair.
“I think McHenry County is still a lot of agriculture, and the fair is about showing agriculture. It's neat because it's still a part of the history of our fair and the history of McHenry County,” Tobiasz said. “It's an opportunity for them to show what they have done throughout the year whether it's animals or science projects or home crafts.”
Season passes which are valid for all five days of the fair are $25. Daily admission is $8 for adults and teens age 13 and older; $5 for seniors older than 60 and veterans with their IDs, as well as for children ages 6-12, and free for children 5 years old and younger.
Carnival passes for unlimited rides are $20, and grandstand prices vary with each event. For information visit www.mchenrycountyfair.com/.