Time for Missouri and Illinois State Fairs

I remember attending the DuQuoin State Fair in Illinois a few years ago and seeing Joe Walsh of Eagles fame there. He was opening for the Marshall Tucker Band. About half way though his set he stopped playing, choked, and sputtered, "Damn, I just swallowed a bug!" After a couple more coughs and a sip of water, Joe was able to finish the set. There was another story circulating around how a female singer at a fair opened her mouth wide to belt out the final crescendo when a bird flying overhead decided to cut loose. Well, you get the picture. Even though playing outside at the state fairs may be hazardous for the performers, they sure can be a lot of fun for everybody else.

The DuQuoin State Fair may have been one of the earliest reclamation projects in the state of Illinois. Back in 1939, a man by the name of William R. Hayes bought the Old Black Gold Strip Mine that joined his original 30-acre fairground tract and set to work filling, leveling, and landscaping the area. Today the fairground encompass some 1200 acres with 12 lakes and ponds, a showcase mansion and stables, the grandstand, and a mile oval track that each year hosts the World Trotting Derby. This year the fair also features two Carnival Midways and Daily Livestock Shows, as well as:

A Senior Center with Daily Entertainment

Culinary, Hobbies, Agricultural Exhibits

Quarter Horse Shows

Free Family Entertainment

Conservation World

Perry's Exotic Petting Zoo

Miller Spectacular ShowsMusical entertainment includes Lost Boys, Travis Parks, and Brittany Clarke. The fair opens at 10 a.m. daily. Admission is $5.00.

The Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois called many places home during the first few years of its existence. The first fair was held in Springfield in 1853 at a site just west of town. The admission fee was 25 cents and about 20,000 people attended the third day. The next year the highlight of the fair was a debate between Senator Steven Douglas and a rebuttal the next day by Abraham Lincoln. In all the fair has been held in twelve different cities over the course of its history. Springfield has been its home for over 100 years.