The 185th DuPage County Fair returns this week with all the trappings that go with it — farm animals, funnel cakes, live music, carnival rides and 4-H projects.
Set for Thursday through Sunday, it’s being held for a 72nd year at the county fairgrounds on Manchester Road in Wheaton.
Things will look a little different this year because of construction of the new DuPage County Highway Maintenance Garage on the north end of the fairgrounds, requiring the demolition of the dilapidated grandstand and several other structures, but the fair will carry on, said Jim McGuire, manager of the DuPage County Fair Association.
“It’s a big year of transition,” he said of the transportation department’s project. “We are going to repurpose a lot of different areas and spaces on the grounds.”
Fantasy Amusement returns with the fan-favorite carnival midway, McGuire said. There will be some new food vendors this year, joining the returning favorites and ensuring plenty of culinary options, he said.
Among the new things patrons will see are programs being led by Future Farmers of America students from the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and Gary Comer High School in Chicago, he said.
“FFA is making a push to increase membership throughout the Chicago area and the city of Chicago … so we have a presence of FFA (at the fair),” McGuire said. “(This) is somewhat new for us. We’ve been more of a 4-H fair for many years. But this year we have a group of kids from FFA that are going to join us and run programming for us.”
They will be showcasing the programs they do in school, including selling some of the produce they grow on their farms and displaying animals they work with at school, he said.
“The idea is to teach people that you don’t necessarily need to grow up on a farm to find your way into agriculture and about the important role agriculture plays in our world,” he said.
Another new thing are glass blowing classes being presented by Ikonic Glass, he said. People can sign up online for a free, 20-minute lessons from which participants can take home the creations they make.
Since the fixtures on the grounds are being shuffled this year, “we have the Fairground Flyer, which is a trackless train that will be running from 12 to 8 p.m. every day of the fair,” he said.
It’s a free ride that anyone can use that makes four stops.
“It gives people the opportunity to see more of the grounds and to move into areas that we really haven’t used in the past,” he said.
The Sunflower Garden benefits from the move, he said, as it is now a part of the fairgrounds proper.
“So people can go up and get photo ops at the Sunflower Garden. They’re all blooming and looking great,” McGuire said.
The Butterfly Garden has also moved, he said.
“We repurposed our wash rack for our large animals and have turned that into a large-scale pollinator garden, which will be dedicated this year at the fair to all of the hard-working past and present DuPage County Fair Association Board members for their dedication to the fair.”
Most of the plants have been moved to the new garden, he said.
“It’s a beautiful garden and I’m excited about folks being able to get in there and look around and learn about the plants that are there and the importance of pollination,” he said.
“It started as a monarch watch station and expanded. We added some beehives and honey production. A couple groups will do programs on bees and the important role bees play in pollination and they can taste and purchase some really good honey. The bees did an exceptional job this year.”
Local bands will headline each night of the fair. The lineup includes Ert From Earth at 7 p.m. Thursday, Thankful Dead at 8 p.m. Friday, Grupo Regresivo at 8 p.m. Saturday and Wildwood Country at 5 p.m. Sunday, with a line dancing class preceding the concert.
Other bands set to perform are The Dennis Martin Duo, the Wilson River Band, Lake Effect and the Solid Aire Band. A talent show will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday on the expo stage.
“On the grounds we will have some roaming artists,” he said. “We have a roaming piano player and a roving disc jockey. We have our stilt walker. We have Boots and Britches – the Cowboy Singers. They are a fan favorite and this is going to be their last year. (One) gentleman is 96 years old. He’s wrapping up his career at our fair this year performing for us.”
Since no fair is complete without some whimsy, there will be a pie-eating contest Friday and a watermelon-eating contest on Saturday.
A 4-H alumni reunion with 4-H members from not just DuPage but surrounding counties as well is set for Thursday. Sheep herding demonstrations will take place twice a day each day of the fair, an activity that helps enforce the fair’s agricultural message, McGuire said.
The GardenWorks Project will offer garden tours and workshops demonstrating how to grow vegetables and more.
“They do a beautiful job with us year-round,” he said.
The Axe Women Loggers from Maine will perform a “lumberjill” show three times a day each day of the fair.
“They do some log rolling in a tank, they throw some axes, they do a chainsaw competition where they are cutting logs against one another, they do some axe competitions where they’re chopping wood against one another,” he said. “It’s a fun competition and people really get into it. They do a cool show and it’s a lot of fun.”
Chainsaw carvers from Bear Hollow Wood Carvers will doing demonstrations and selling their work. The Big Run Wolf Ranch will do two shows on Thursday and Friday.
The fair has more than 1,000 open classes for people to compete in, from quilts and quick breads to photography and flowers. More than 200 4-H members will compete at the fair as well.
“We have a cool program that was a partnership with the Farm Bureau,” he said. “Back in May, the farm bureau distributed over 5,000 tomato plants. They brought one to every fourth-grader in DuPage County and they threw out a challenge. If the fourth-grader keeps the plant alive and brings it back to the fair on Saturday, they get awarded a wristband for the carnival. And they will be able to enter their tomato plant for judging.”
McGuire hopes that people will enjoy the camaraderie they try to create.
“The fair is the place where the community gathers. And at this time in our world, I don’t think there’s a better thing for us to do than get together, enjoy one another, enjoy all the entertainment that’s there and enjoy the talents of all the people that live around us. That’s what the fair’s about — enjoy, learn a little about some animals, have fun on the carnival rides and eat some delicious food.”
Fair hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Daily admission is $8 to $12, and free for children 5 and under and active military personnel. A daily mega pass, which includes admission and unlimited carnival rides, is $35.
For more information, go to dupagecountyfair.org.
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
