Ric Hansen of Bartlett won’t exhibit anything at the 44th Annual DuPage County Fair, but thousands of fair visitors will see his handiwork.
Hansen submitted the winning entry in a countywide contest to design the cover of the fair program, which will be available free to the public throughout the five-day event. The fair opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday at the DuPage County fairgrounds, at County Farm and Manchester Roads.
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Hansen, a marketing communications manager for a Franklin Park housewares company, grew up in Racine, Wis., and attended Wisconsin state and county fairs as a child and teenager. A former resident of Park Ridge, he moved to DuPage County two years ago and attended the DuPage County Fair for the first time in 1997.
“County fairs are a real part of Americana,” Hansen said. “I like the sights, sounds, smells and food.
“I wanted my cover design to depict the fair’s animals, people, competition, fun and entertainment, and recognize the efforts of the many 4-H boys and girls who show at the fair.”
Hansen, who described himself as “a creative-type person,” used public domain clip art and carefully chosen type fonts to create a white, blue and black fair program that features silhouettes of cows, a prize ribbon, flowers, a young girl, horse and rider, and fair dates. As the prize-winning cover designer, he received a $50 U.S. savings bond and tickets to the fair.
“I’m looking forward to enjoying the exhibits and having corn dogs and lemonade,” Hansen said. “Going to the fair makes for a nice summertime activity.”
The cover design competition was not the first contest Hansen has entered and won. In junior high school, he won an essay contest sponsored by a soft drink company and was awarded a 7-minute shopping spree at a grocery. He also has won poster design contests and snow sculpting competitions and was runner-up in a paper ornament competition, Hansen said.
Admission to the fair, which runs Wednesday through Sunday, is $5 per day per adult ($3 for seniors 62 and older except on Friday, when seniors are admitted free). A season pass is $12. Children younger than 10 are admitted free.