Illinois Department of Agriculture announces 2006 county fair schedule

[MAY 31, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- A favorite Illinois pastime begins this year in Clark County when the first of the state's 105 county fairs opens an eight-day run on June 11 in Marshall.

On Wednesday [May 17], the Illinois Department of Agriculture released the complete schedule of 2006 county fairs. Copies can be obtained by calling the department's Bureau of County Fairs and Horse Racing at [phone] or by visiting www.agr.state.il.us. The electronic version on the Internet includes a database that is searchable by both date and location.

"Illinois takes great pride in its county fairs," Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke said. "Each summer, people throughout the state gather on their local county fairgrounds to renew acquaintances, celebrate our agricultural heritage and have a good time. And, there's certainly plenty to see and do. From livestock shows and demolition derbies to games and carnival rides, county fairs offer entertainment the whole family can enjoy."

Other county fair attractions typically include queen pageants, truck and tractor pulls, musical concerts, and 4-H exhibits. Thirty-eight county fairs feature harness racing. Eight offer thoroughbred racing.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture supports the efforts of the volunteer boards that organize county fairs by providing funding for award premiums, the maintenance of facilities and agriculture education programs. In 2005, this support totaled more than $7.7 million.

The 2006 county fair season concludes Sept. 17 with the Okawville Agricultural Products Fair in Washington County.

The full schedule is below. For further information, contact the appropriate fair association.

[Illinois Department of Agriculture news release]

2006 Illinois county fairs

County	Date	Town	Fair association	Phone
Adams	July 27-Aug. 2	Mendon	Adams County Fair Association	[phone]
Bond	Aug. 2-8	Greenville	Bond County Fair Association	[phone]
Boone	Aug. 8-13	Belvidere	Boone County Fair Association	[phone]
Brown	Aug. 1-6	Mount Sterling	Brown County Fair Association	[phone]
Bureau	Aug. 23-27	Princeton	Bureau County Ag Board	[phone]
Calhoun	Sept. 7-10	Hardin	Calhoun Apple Advisory Club	[phone]
Carroll	Aug. 7-12	Milledgeville	Carroll County Fair Association	[phone]
Cass	July 18-22	Virginia	Cass County Fair Association	[phone]
Champaign	July 11-15	Fisher	Fisher Community Fair	[phone]
Champaign	July 21-29	Urbana	Champaign County Fair Association	[phone]
Christian	Aug.30-Sept. 4	Pana	Pana Tri-County Fair Association	[phone]
Christian	July 11-16	Taylorville	Christian County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Clark	June 11-18	Marshall	Clark County Fair Association	[phone]
Clark	June 25-July 1	Martinsville	Martinsville Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Clay	July 13-23	Flora	Clay County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Clinton	July 16-22	Carlyle	Clinton County Ag Association	[phone]
Coles	July 30-Aug. 6	Charleston	Coles County Ag Association	[phone]
Crawford	July 22-29	Oblong	Crawford County Fair Association	[phone]
Cumberland	Aug. 20-26	Greenup	Greenup-Cumberland County Fair	[phone]
DeKalb	Sept. 6-10	Sandwich	Sandwich Fair Association	(815) 86-2159
DeKalb	Aug. 4-6	Sycamore	Sycamore Farmer's Club Junior Fair	[phone]
DeWitt	July 18-22	Farmer City	Farmer City Fair Association	[phone]
DuPage	July 26-30	Wheaton	DuPage County Fair & Expo Association	[phone]
Edgar	July 22-29	Paris	Edgar County Fair Association	[phone]
Edwards	July 19-29	Albion	Edwards County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Effingham	Aug. 5-12	Altamont	Effingham County Fair Association	[phone]
Fayette	July 8-15	Brownstown	Fayette County Fair Association	[phone]
Ford	July 9-15	Melvin	Ford County Fair of Melvin	[phone]
Franklin	July 6-12	Ina	Franklin County Fair Association	[phone]
Fulton	July 24-29	Lewistown	Fulton County Fair & Racing Association	[phone]
Gallatin	Sept. 2-10	Ridgway	Gallatin County Fair Association	[phone]
Greene	June 17-24	Carrollton	Greene County Ag Fair	[phone]
Grundy	June 30-July 4	Morris	Grundy County Ag District Fair	[phone]
Hamilton	June 30-July 8	McLeansboro	McLeansboro Fair Association	[phone]
Hancock	July 19-23	Augusta	Hancock County Fair	[phone]
Henderson	July 1-8	Stronghurst	Henderson County Fair Association	[phone]
Henry	June 20-25	Cambridge	Henry County Fair Association	[phone]
Iroquois	July 19-24	Crescent City	Iroquois County Ag & 4-H Club	[phone]
Jasper	June 24-July 1	Newton	Jasper County Ag Association	[phone]
Jefferson	July 14-22	Ina	Jefferson County Youth Fair	[phone]
Jersey	July 8-16	Jerseyville	Jersey County Fair Association	[phone]
Jo Daviess	July 21-23	Elizabeth	Elizabeth Community Fair	[phone]
Jo Daviess	Aug. 2-6	Warren	Jo Daviess County Ag Society	[phone]
Kane	July 19-23	St. Charles	Kane County Fair & Ind. Expo	[phone]
Kankakee	Aug. 2-6	Kankakee	Kankakee County Fair & Expo	[phone]
Kendall	Aug. 3-6	Yorkville	Kendall County Fair Association	[phone]
Knox	Aug. 1-5	Knoxville	Knox County Ag Board & Fair Association	[phone]
Lake	July 25-30	Grayslake	Lake County Fair Association	[phone]
LaSalle	Aug. 31-Sept. 4	Mendota	Tri-County Fair Association	[phone]
LaSalle	July 12-16	Ottawa	LaSalle County Junior Fair Association	[phone]
Lawrence	July 29-Aug. 5	Sumner	Lawrence County Junior Fair Association	[phone]
Lee	July 27-30	Amboy	Lee County 4-H Fair & Junior Show	[phone]
Livingston	Aug. 9-12	Cullom	Cullom Junior Fair	[phone]
Livingston	Aug. 16-20	Fairbury	Fairbury Fair Association	[phone]
Livingston	July 17-20	Pontiac	Livingston County Fair Association	[phone]
Logan	Aug. 1-6	Lincoln	Logan County Fair Association	[phone]
Macon	June 13-18	Decatur	Decatur-Macon County Fair Association	[phone]
Macoupin	July 17-22	Carlinville	Macoupin County Fair & Ag Association	[phone]
Madison	July 23-28	Highland	Madison County Fair Association	[phone]
Marion	July 28-Aug. 5	Salem	Marion County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Marshall-Putnam	July 12-16	Henry	Marshall-Putnam Fair Association	[phone]
Mason	July 24-28	Havana	Mason County 4-H & Junior Ag Show	[phone]
Massac	July 14-22	Metropolis	Massac County Youth Fair	[phone]
McDonough	July 17-21	Macomb	McDonough County 4-H Corp.	[phone]
McHenry	Aug. 2-6	Woodstock	McHenry County Fair Association	[phone]
McLean	Aug. 2-6	Bloomington	McLean County Fair Association	[phone]
Menard	July 18-23	Petersburg	Menard County Fair	[phone]
Mercer	July 11-16	Aledo	Mercer County Ag Society	[phone]
Monroe	July 23-30	Waterloo	Monroe County Fair Association	[phone]
Montgomery	June 21-25	Butler	Montgomery County Fair & Ag Association	[phone]
Morgan	July 12-16	Jacksonville	Morgan County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Moultrie-Douglas	July 9-15	Arthur	Moultrie-Douglas County Fair Association	[phone]
Moultrie	July 28-30	Sullivan	Moultrie-Sullivan Junior Fair	[phone]
Ogle	Aug. 2-6	Oregon	Ogle County Fair Association	[phone]
Peoria	July 7-15	Peoria	Heart of Illinois Fair	[phone]
Perry	June 17-26	Pinckneyville	Perry County Ag Society	[phone]
Piatt	June 20-25	Cerro Gordo	Piatt County Junior Fair Association	[phone]
Pike	June 21-25	Griggsville	Western Illinois Fair Association	[phone]
Pike	July 17-22	Pleasant Hill	Pike County Fair Association	[phone]
Pulaski	Aug. 14-19	Pulaski	Pulaski Civic & Community Fair	[phone]
Randolph	July 28-Aug 5	Sparta	Randolph County Fair	[phone]
Richland	July 7-15	Olney	Richland County Farm & Fair Association	[phone]
Rock Island	July 18-22	East Moline	Rock Island County Ag Fair & Expo	[phone]
St. Clair	Aug. 8-12	Belleville	St. Clair County Fair Association	[phone]
Saline	July 21-29	Harrisburg	Saline County Ag Association	[phone]
Sangamon	June 14-18	New Berlin	Sangamon County Fair & Ag Association	[phone]
Schuyler	June 29-July 4	Rushville	Schuyler County Fair	[phone]
Scott	July 30-Aug.4	Winchester	Scott County 4-H & Junior Ag Show	[phone]
Shelby	July 24-27	Shelbyville	Shelby County 4-H & Junior Fair	[phone]
Stark	July 28-31	Wyoming	Stark County Junior Fair Association	[phone]
Stephenson	Aug. 21-27	Freeport	Stephenson County Fair Association	[phone]
Tazewell	July 31-Aug. 3	Pekin	Veteran's Memorial Fair Association	[phone]
Union	Aug. 19-26	Anna	Southern Illinois Fair Association	[phone]
Vermilion	June 21-25	Danville	Vermilion County Fair & Expo	[phone]
Vermilion	Aug. 6-12	Georgetown	Georgetown Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Wabash	July 22-28	Mount Carmel	Wabash County Youth Exhibition	[phone]
Warren	July 22-29	Roseville	Warren County Ag Fair Association	[phone]
Washington	July 8-15	Nashville	Nashville, Washington County Fair	[phone]
Washington	Sept. 15-17	Okawville	Okawville Ag Products Fair Association	[phone]
Wayne	July 15-22	Fairfield	The New Wayne County Ag Fair	[phone]
White	July 29-Aug. 5	Carmi	White County Ag Society	[phone]
Whiteside	Aug. 15-19	Morrison	Whiteside County Central Ag Society	[phone]
Will	Aug. 23-27	Peotone	Will County Fair Association	[phone]
Williamson	Aug. 5-12	Marion	Williamson County Ag Association	[phone]
Winnebago	Aug. 15-20	Pecatonica	Winnebago County Fair Association	[phone]