Food, friends and family fun were the draws Friday in Crown Point in celebration of the 163rd annual Lake County Fair.
Friends Aaron Herrera and Mason Thompson, both 13 and both from Crown Point, plan to spend as much time as possible at the annual event. The teens were sporting mega ride passes that give them unlimited access to midway rides for the event’s run through Aug. 15 at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
“We normally do it every year,” Aaron said.
“We do it because it is fun,” Mason chimed in.
The pair are familiar with the fair and its layout enough to notice slight changes, such as the location of some vendors and rides, which included the new Kidbucks Game Show.
Herrera spent time as a contestant and was the inaugural winner of the Kidbucks, an interactive game show that pits nine youth participants per session against one another as they compete in wacky fair-themed games like “Chicken Flickin,” a game where contestants try to catch rubber chickens tossed through the air.
Fairgoers from ages 4 through 16 can participate in Kidbucks Game Shows. Nine contestants are drawn from all those who register. The lucky nine compete in a series of games, said Christopher George, of Balster Magic Productions Inc., the Westmont, Ill., company that produces Kidbucks.
The winning participant during each set gets to go into the Kidbucks wind chamber for 30 seconds in an effort to grab as many of the 250 fake dollar bills swirling in the air as he or she can.
Aaron worked fast to grab 76 bills for his grand prize, a large Spongebob Squarepants stuffed animal.
“This was fun. You are never too old to love Spongebob,” Aaron said, smiling over his winnings. “My favorite thing was catching the chickens. I didn’t want to fail.”
Nine youth audience members also are randomly selected to be entered into the grand prize raffle Aug. 15 for a bike.
George said the game show is a great way to encourage old-fashioned family fun and involvement.
“It builds a child’s self-esteem,” George said, adding he enjoys seeing the contestant’s reactions when they are successful in the challenges and their family is watching.
“You see so much technology, you don’t see families interact. This gets parents interacting with their children,” George said.
And it is fun, Aaron said. He offered some tips for the gamers who will come after him in the remaining shows.
“Stay focused. Don’t even look at the other gamers. Strike fear into them,” he said.
Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
