This year’s theme for the Lake County Fair in Grayslake is “Bursting with fun!”
Nearly 100,000 people are expected to attend over the five days of the fair, which opened Wednesday, according to Chey Pribel, project manager at the fairgrounds.
“Lake County is an awesome community that we really want to celebrate for its agricultural roots and where we are with agriculture today,” Pribel said. “We love encouraging the next generation of people to learn about agriculture, appreciate it and get into it, whether it’s a career field or just as a hobbyist.
“We really just want to be able to show the full scale of agriculture in the county, as well as farm heritage and the history,” she said.
Among the features on opening day was a carnival and trick riders on motorcycles. A Monster Truck Throwdown is another event planned for three days of the fair.
In the Expo Hall, you could walk through an inflatable colon cancer screening learning arch and see polyps.
Another unexpected attraction on Wednesday was the swine barn, where Berkshire pig Sojourn “Sojo” of Mundelein was in labor. Sojo moved about the pen, gnawing on wood fencing and then eating apple pieces offered by a handler. A large fan cooled Sojo to help ease the birthing process.
Grace Smith, 16, of Hawthorn Woods and a rising junior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, was crowned as this year’s Miss Lake County Fair Queen. Smith was selected from among four contestants at the pageant held inside the Expo Hall.
Competitors were tasked with offering short speeches, answering questions, donning ballroom gowns and walking the stage and runway in maillot swimsuits.
“I am so incredibly excited to see what this next year holds for me,” Smith said shortly after being crowned. “I want to say thank you so much, Lake County, for voting for me. Come to the Lake County Fair.”