Riders react with excitement as the “Pharaoh’s Fury” ride gains momentum, reaching new heights Saturday at the Adams County Fair in Mendon. (H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt)
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Published: 7/31/2010 | Updated: 8/8/2010
By MARY POLETTI
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
MENDON — Lisa Wiegand and her family visit the Adams County Fair each year. But the carnival rides at this year's fair held a new experience for her oldest son.
"We put him on the motorcycles over there, and he said, â That wasn't very much fun,' so we decided to try this," Wiegand said as her sons, 6 and 4, cruised past on a small roller coaster in the likeness of a colorful dragon.
The gamble appeared to have paid off, judging from the squeals of delight coming from the coaster and the smiling faces whizzing past Wiegand.
"Look at their faces," she said, waving to her sons.
The Wiegand family were part of a steady stream of fairgoers riding carnival rides, eyeballing farm animals and agricultural demonstrations, eating fried treats and taking in live music Saturday at the Adams County Fair near Mendon.
Despite heavy rains Friday night, fair organizers said attendance had been steady, and exhibit space was filled to capacity, in part because season passes to the fair were discounted for exhibitors.
"We've had pretty fair attendance considering the rain," said Adams County Fair Secretary Debbie Coulson.
Indeed, a show was the highlight of this hot and sunny Saturday, as chart-topping country band Lonestar took the grandstand stage that night. Bleacher seats were free with paid admission to the fair, but Coulson said more than 1,400 fairgoers had upgraded to track seats, nearly selling out those seats.
Also on Saturday, livestock judging — the centerpiece of the fair for many people — continued with swine, dairy and beef cows, and rabbits. 4-H at times appeared to rule the fair, with its members' animals and other exhibits filling several barns, and with "My Place Is in 4-H" signs, riffing on the popular social networking website MySpace, dotting the fairgrounds. But many young exhibitors appeared laid-back in Saturday evening's heat.
As fairgoers streamed in and out of the dairy and beef barns, petting or otherwise admiring cows, Lucas Tennis and Cole Cutforth, both 13 and of Liberty, relaxed in camp chairs next to the prize-winning dairy cows they showed on Saturday for the Burton Flyers 4-H Club.
Lucas said he showed cows "just for something to do and for having fun."
A few feet away, Tailor Schluter tended to his family's dairy cows, including his heifer Tatum, the fair's junior champion and reserve grand champion.
"It's a fun fair. I'd been here a couple years ago, and I missed some people here," said Tailor, 13, who recently moved to Red Bud, south of St. Louis.
When asked what he liked best about showing cows, the young champion, who has been showing cows for four years, joked, "Winning? I don't know. Not the work."
Behind the livestock barns, the Olde Tyme Association had assembled a showcase of nearly 100 antique tractors, up from an average of 75 to 80 tractors in past years. In addition to its sawmill and threshing displays, a petting zoo and a blacksmithing demonstration, the group introduced a display of antique farm toys this year in its office, itself a 19th-century Adams County Fair office relocated from Camp Point.
Dave Lewis of the Olde Tyme Association called the group's associated exhibits "a first-class farm museum" and said attendance had been up at its signature Lewis County Round Barn.
Back at the carnival, steady lines frequented ticket booths and rides like the Hotshot, the Predator and a Ferris wheel straight from the late pop star Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. A ticket seller who identified herself only as Roberta said Saturday afternoon's armband promotion, which offered unlimited rides for $15 at a carnival where many rides cost $3 to $5, had been a big hit.
"The weather is with us," Roberta said.
The fair continues through Wednesday. Tickets are $7 on Sunday and Tuesday and $10 on Monday and Wednesday, with children 12 and under admitted free on all nights. A schedule of events is available at www.fourstar.lib.il.us/community/fairs/adams.
— mpoletti@whig.com/221-3385
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