Toddlers and pre-schoolers enjoyed time with the animals — riding ponies, petting goats and checking out the chickens — Thursday afternoon at the Lake County Fair.
Mike and Hollie Armour, of Gurnee, brought their three young children, Brayden, 3, Beckett, 2 and infant, Brantley, to the fair on a day they knew wouldn’t be too crowded.
“It’s the first time we’ve been here as a family,” Mike Armour said. “It’s been great.”
Brayden grinned at his mom as he rode in a circle on a pony, guided by a horse trainer. When his turn was up, he was ready for more, and got back on again. The second time, Hollie Armour walked along with Beckett, who was a bit afraid of the large animal, but soon relaxed.
“So far the tractors have been the big thing, and the horses,” Hollie Armour said.
Her boys had also been to the petting zoo, she added.
Mike Armour said bringing the children to the fair gives them an opportunity to be close to animals they rarely see.
Lexi Morris, 4, and her mother, Jinah Morris, of Mt. Pleasant, Wis., came to the fair with Lexi’s grandmother, who lives in Winthrop Harbor.
“She loves the animals,” Jinah Morris said of daughter. “We take her different places to see them.”
At the petting zoo, Lexi gravitated toward a goat and placed her hand on his coat.
“I like to pet them and feed them,” she said.
With rain on the way, some fairgoers retreated to the large expo hall, where children got a taste of farm life at the Ag Adventure. There they could pick carrots, milk a cow, pick apples from a tree and eggs from a hen cage — not the real things, of course, but perfect for the toddlers, said Jasett Ktsanes of Round Lake, who brought her two children, Nathan, 1, and Audrey, 3.
“This brings the farm experience to them in a way they’re not going to hurt anything,” she said.
Nathan milked the cow the large cutout cow, then thought it would be fun to taste the liquid coming out of the plastic udders. His mother was immediately there to make sure he didn’t succeed.
Carnival rides were shut down because of the thunder, and would reopen when the storm passed. That didn’t stop fairgoers from eating grilled cheese sandwiches, funnel cakes and corn dogs while waiting for the rain to subside.
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The fair is open through Sunday. Friday features all-day livestock exhibits and activities including the crazy cow relay, along with music, demolition events and evening fireworks. The fair is free Friday for all veterans and active duty servicemen and women.
Saturday features a pro rodeo stampede, an equestrian demonstration and pie-eating contest. Sunday includes a crash fest and more livestock, music and demonstrations.
Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.