For some, the annual Will County Fair provides a journey down memory lane to a time when the number of barns and barnyard animals in the county exceeded its human population.
For others, it’s a celebration of a rural way of life that still exists, though faintly, in towns such as Crete, Monee, Beecher, Manhattan, Frankfort, Homer Glen, Elwood and Peotone.
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And with urban sprawl consuming an ever-increasing number of farm acres within the county each year, staging an annual county fair might appear outdated.
Not so, according to Will County Fair Association officials. The county’s 101st annual fair opens Wednesday at the fairgrounds along Peotone-Wilmington Road, east of Interstate Highway 57 and west of Illinois Highway 50 in Peotone.
“It’s not just for the agricultural community, it’s also an opportunity for kids from the city, many of whom haven’t seen farm animals, to view them up close,” said Milbert Johnson, who has served as president of the association for 37 years.
“Furthermore, agriculture is still big business in Will County, despite all of the recent development,” added Johnson, who lives on a farm just north of Peotone. “For farmers here and their families, the fair is still an important function and something they look forward to every year.”
The fair, which runs through Sunday, is expected to draw 50,000 to 60,000 visitors, Johnson said.
Except for Wednesday, when it opens at 10 a.m., the fair will run daily from 8 a.m. to midnight. Admission at the gate is $3 a person, except Wednesday, when the cost is $1. Seniors ages 65 and older will get in for 50 cents on Thursday. Children younger than 10 will be admitted free throughout the five-day event. Tickets for carnival rides and special events will cost extra; prices vary depending on the day and time.
Fair highlights include a Figure-Eight Derby at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and the Illinois Tractor Pullers Association tractor- and truck-pulling contest at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Johnson said.
Auto demolitions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Friday. Free musical entertainment featuring the Fox Brothers, a Christian country-western trio, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and the International Professional Rodeo Association will perform at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Johnson said. A baby show, another popular event, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Circus acts, games, food and nightly musical entertainment in the fairgrounds’ beer garden also are scheduled.
Even local politicians will have their day at the fair. Democrats are featured on Saturday, and Republicans Sunday.
Agriculture, however, remains the heart of the fair, just as it has since the first Will County Fair was staged in 1904, Johnson said. Farmers and 4-H Club members within a 100-mile radius of Peotone will be in the exhibition halls to showcase their prized hogs, horses, dairy cows, sheep, goats, beef cattle, chickens, geese, ducks and pigeons.
“Since the fair was first held, the agricultural nature of the event hasn’t changed and, hopefully, it will always remain that way,” he said.
For more information, go to www.willcountyfair.org or call the fairgrounds office at 708-258-9359.