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Slideshow: County fair season is heating up in Illinois, and Prairie Farmer asked readers to share their favorite county fair photos. Check them out here!

Holly Spangler, Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer

June 17, 2022

19 Slides

Summer is in full swing, and here in Illinois, that means one thing: county fairs!

“I just love the fair industry. The people are amazing,” says Jill Hardesty, president of the Illinois Association of County Fairs. “There’s a lot of these people that I’ve showed cattle with since I was 10 years old.”

Hardesty’s not alone in her love of the fair. All across the state, volunteers are putting in hundreds of hours to pull off a time-honored event that brings their community together around livestock, 4-H, corn dogs and Ferris wheels. Many are still in recovery following canceled fairs in 2020, but are fighting their way back in 2022. Hardesty says crowds were out in force in 2021, and she expects the same in 2022.

The Boone County Fair reported the highest attendance in 2021, at 209,439 people. Fairs in DeKalb, Winnebago and McHenry counties all came in with attendance at or over 100,000 last year. For a full schedule of Illinois county fairs, check out this list, courtesy of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Prairie Farmer recently asked readers to share their favorite county fair photos — click through for some fun stories! And be sure to check out the infographic below.

Illinois county fair infographic

About the Author(s)

Holly Spangler

Senior Editor, Prairie Farmer, Farm Progress

Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazine’s coverage. She currently serves as editor of Prairie Farmer magazine and Executive Editor for Farm Progress, managing editorial staff at six magazines throughout the eastern Corn Belt. She began her career with Prairie Farmer just before graduating from the University of Illinois in agricultural communications.

An award-winning writer and photographer, Holly is past president of the American Agricultural Editors Association. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. She was named an AAEA Master Writer in 2005. In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. She currently serves on the Illinois Fairgrounds Foundation, the U of I Agricultural Communications Advisory committee, and is an advisory board member for the U of I College of ACES Research Station at Monmouth. Her work in agricultural media has been recognized by the Illinois Soybean Association, Illinois Corn, Illinois Council on Agricultural Education and MidAmerica Croplife Association.

Holly and her husband, John, farm in western Illinois where they raise corn, soybeans and beef cattle on 2,500 acres. Their operation includes 125 head of commercial cows in a cow/calf operation. The family farm includes John’s parents and their three children.

Holly frequently speaks to a variety of groups and organizations, sharing the heart, soul and science of agriculture. She and her husband are active in state and local farm organizations. They serve with their local 4-H and FFA programs, their school district, and are active in their church's youth and music ministries.

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