Illinois Department of Agriculture announces 2005 county fair schedule

[JUNE 6, 2005]  SPRINGFIELD -- A favorite Illinois pastime begins this year on June 12 in Clark County, when the first of the state's 105 county fairs opens an eight-day run in Marshall.

On May 25, the Illinois Department of Agriculture released the complete schedule of 2005 county fairs. Copies can be obtained by calling the department's Bureau of County Fairs and Horse Racing at [phone] or visiting www.agr.state.il.us. The electronic version on the Internet includes a database that is searchable by both date and location.

"Millions of Illinoisans make county fairs part of their summer vacation plans every year because of the affordable entertainment they offer," said Chuck Hartke, director of the Department of Agriculture. "From livestock shows and demolition derbies to games and carnival rides, there's plenty for the whole family to see and do."

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

"County fairs not only are great fun but also educational," added Tex Moats, bureau chief of County Fairs and Horse Racing. "They explain the impact of agriculture on our lives, regardless of whether we live or work on a farm."

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 2004, this support totaled more than $7.5 million.

The 2005 county fair season concludes Sept. 18 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]

2005 Illinois county fairs

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

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