Lookin' farm fresh: County fair season gives suburbanites a slice of farm life
The Vaughan family cows greet a steady stream of city slickers with their big doe eyes.
People who don't know their cattle breeds can gather around a few corner stalls in one of the barns at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton this weekend to learn how to milk a Jersey cow.
Not one is raised in DuPage. The dairy cows will be trucked in from Century Acres in Sheridan for this weekend's fair.
In a highly urbanized area, where working family farms and barnyard animals have all but disappeared from the landscape, the county fair still preserves a sweet slice of rural life. You'll still find displays of homegrown vegetables, home-cooked pies and handcrafted quilts in the exhibition halls.
But instead of wrangling large livestock, a new generation of 4-H kids will show pet rabbits and dogs during the suburban county fair season. And fair organizers who are still trying to recover from the pandemic have planned activities that have little or nothing to do with agriculture.
"We've added a pickleball tournament," says Jim McGuire, manager of the nonprofit DuPage County Fair Association.
The Lake County Fair had a slimmed-down lineup and an abbreviated schedule in 2021 before getting back to full strength last year. The glitzier county fair returned Wednesday with camel rides, stunt dog tricks and motocross alongside the traditional pig races.
Shannon Dunn, general manager of the Lake County Fairgrounds & Events Center in Grayslake, has been hamming it up with the event mascot, Porkchop, who's slated to tie the knot - tail? - with his pen pal, Penny, on Saturday.
"Porkchop's our chief collaborator at the fairgrounds," Dunn said in a wedding announcement. "You know, colla-BOAR-ator."
The DuPage County Fair will be without some heavy hitters in its three-day lineup. Demolition derbies and professional rodeos have fallen victim to a tighter budget. Organizers have been in rebuilding mode after facing two years without a fair and a labor crunch.
"We are hopeful we get back to the rodeo. We'd like to see the demo derby again. We'd like to get some of those back," McGuire said of fair mainstays. "But we do have to get ourselves a little bit stronger financially as an organization and continue to strengthen our group and move it forward. There's a lot involved in those. It takes up a lot of time. It takes up some ground and they are relatively expensive."
Fair organizers said last year's event drew more than 28,000 visitors. This year's county fair will serve up alternative entertainment: a high-level, grass volleyball tournament. Organizers also are putting a spin on the latest sports craze - pickleball - to help boost attendance.
The top pickleball player in every category will receive a giant grand champion rosette and a cash prize. Women will play on Friday, men on Saturday and mixed doubles on Sunday. Sure Shot Pickleball, a company opening indoor courts in a former Naperville trampoline park, will give some advanced lessons on the fast-growing sport.
"The whole idea behind fairs is competition and learning new things and having fun," McGuire said.
But you can't have a county fair without one form of friendly competition. You can still make a splash at a watermelon-eating contest - no hands allowed - Saturday afternoon. Or enter a pie-eating contest - face first - Friday evening on the west lawn.
"I actually won that many years ago here at the fairgrounds," McGuire said. "The blueberry pie, that was my favorite."
Trained dogs will demonstrate the agrarian art of sheepherding. There will be a pedal pull contest on the midway. And the "Barn Biz" exhibit shows a historical timeline of the county fair - a 182-year tradition.
"You're keeping it going, and you're doing your best to keep it going," McGuire said.
He acknowledges it's sometimes an overwhelming job. But the responsibility doesn't fall solely on his broad shoulders.
"Then you think about all the people who did step up over the years and kept it alive and kept it going for the community to get together and celebrate," McGuire said.
Folks like Debbie Vaughan and her husband, Ron, who's been involved with the fair since he was 8 years old. They represent Century Acres, a 96-year-old farm in Sheridan, some 50 miles from the DuPage County Fair. The Vaughans still bring their Jersey cows, framed family photos and a homey atmosphere to the fairgrounds.
"That's the cool thing about the fair, too, is getting all those people back together," McGuire said. "And it's a big family, the fair family."
In the fair family, some things never change.
IF YOU GO: DuPage and Lake county fairs
What: DuPage County Fair
When: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, July 28; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, July 29; noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 30
Where: 2015 Manchester Road, Wheaton
Admission: Adults $10; children 3-12 $5; children 2 and younger free; seniors 62 and older $5
Info: dupagecountyfair.org
What: Lake County Fair
When: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 27; 8 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, July 28 and 29; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 30
Where: Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 E. Peterson Road, Grayslake
Admission: Adults $15; children 6-12 $5; children 5 and younger free; seniors 62 and older $5
Info: lcfair.com/2023