DuPage County Fair Promises Mix of New Events, Traditions

Getting ready for the annual DuPage County Fair means putting on sunblock and choosing among a myriad of events to attend.

And this year, there will be plenty of events. Beginning Wednesday and continuing through Sunday, the fair promises a variety of games, competitions, displays and live entertainment. A full list of events can be found on the DuPage County Fair's website.

“There’s something for everybody, from little on up,” said Fair Association Manager Ellen Sietmann. “They are learning things about agriculture and how it impacts their lives.”

When the fair begins, visitors will be met with popular returning entertainment, such as the rides at "Ag-ventureland," livestock auctions, home economics exhibits and animal-racing shows.

The fair also will bring several new events, including a farmers market and craft fair, a dog adoption center, reptile and robotics shows, a NASCAR race game and a beer garden for the first time in fair history.

Besides the beer garden, the fair also will offer a “Spirits of DuPage” event, where visitors can participate in beer and wine tasting, which raises money for Friends of the DuPage County Fair.

As for live music, cover bands and tribute bands provide a lineup of music from the decades following the theme of “Celebrating the Generations.”

Fair Association President Jim McGuire said the fair's new offerings are intended to appeal to the current community, because DuPage County is no longer the solely agricultural-based area it was decades ago.

“We are an agricultural fair and will always be an agricultural fair but we want to become relevant to the current DuPage County,” he said. “The agriculture part is part of our mission.”

That mission is to not only let residents have fun at the five-day fair, but to also teach them about the county’s history, Sietmann said.

“We feel it’s very important for people to learn about heritage,” Sietmann said. “It makes people remember the old farms.”

The fair organizers and volunteers have been hard at work to prepare for this week's festivities. Late last week workers were still setting up in the sweltering heat, directing moving trucks around the lot, putting up tents and placing booths in the right spots.

Inside the offices of the Fair Association, phones were ringing off the hook, papers were stacked and strewn across the meeting room tables, and volunteers come and go every minute.

The fair boasts almost 300 volunteers this year, all dedicated to making the fair possible. Some, like Pat Schaefer, have dedicated years to working for the fair. 

“It’s been great,” said Schaefer, who has been a volunteer every year since 2001. “There’s always so many things to do and everybody that works here [is] so nice.”

Schaefer works from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and said she enjoys spending her time at the offices. For her, the best part of volunteering is watching the sea of people in the parking lot start to enter the fair, which lets her know she did her job well.

Another volunteer, 78-year-old Mary Lou White, has worked for the fair for more than 20 years.

“You’re doing something for your county,” she said. “You get to meet the people and you’re involved in different projects. It’s a lot of fun.”

When the fair begins Wednesday, Sietmann and McGuire said they hope everything runs smoothly. Despite the heat, Sietmann encourages residents not to be afraid of coming out, as the fair will provide mister stations, air conditioning at some venues and plenty of shade.

“This year we’re hoping for beautiful weather,” Sietmann said. “I think it’s going to be great. We have great things lined up.”

The fair slogan is “It’s your fair, gonna be there?” and McGuire said he hopes residents will come and enjoy what the county has to offer.

“It is your fair, so we want everyone to feel like it is,” he said.