The DuPage County Fair menu is reason enough to visit the grounds this weekend.
Of course, there are turkey legs, buckets of lemonade and deep-fried Oreos. Unless you have a stomach of steel, those are best enjoyed after getting off amusement rides with names like the Tornado and Vertigo, an LED-illuminated tower that rises above the Wheaton fairgrounds.
Rides and games are back in swing at the DuPage County Fair on Manchester Road in Wheaton.
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Along with the county fair staples, the Mama Coco Mobile Cuisine food truck has al pastor and steak tacos with fresh chopped cilantro and onion. Nearby, The Roasted Cob stand serves whole corn cobs with the charred husks still attached. Gyro meals spill over the plate. And on the sweeter side of things, a pie-eating contest is set for Friday afternoon on the west lawn.
That’s one of the thrills of the county fair: You can’t possibly savor it all in one day.
“We want the community to come out and gather with us, celebrate each other and have some fun,” says Jim McGuire, who’s in charge of the four-day run of the fair.
Part of the fun is meeting the barn animals: nosy goats, pigs, sheep, ducks, chickens, rabbits and the Vaughan family’s sweet Jersey cows.
A goat named Reece entertains visitors to the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton on Thursday.
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Sheepherding demonstrations re-create a bit of life on the farm. Dogs named Ducky and Carly keep the herd tightly packed together.
AKC Herding Judge Laura Kincaid of Antioch speaks to a crowd on Thursday as her dog Ducky controls nine sheep during a herding demonstration at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton.
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AKC Herding Judge Laura Kincaid of Antioch works with her dog Carly and nine sheep on Thursday during a herding demonstration in the grandstand field at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton.
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“Agriculture is always our root. That’s what we’re about,” McGuire said. “It was the history of DuPage. That’s where we all started.”
The fair helps keep that past alive. The giant red wheels of a steam tractor engine are parked near the north gate. The engine was manufactured by the Minneapolis Threshing Company in 1918 and later used to plow fields, saw wood and build roads, according to an educational sign. Art and Jim Lootens bought the engine in the 1970s and brought it to West Chicago.
New this year: Kids 5 and under enjoy free admission. Musicians entertain around the grounds, not just in the beer garden. Once again, the fair has a complete carnival for kids, teens and the young at heart. Funnel cakes and frozen treats are on the menu, too.
A stilt walker entertains a crowd at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton while a soft-serve ice cream stand beckons in the background.
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Denise Ghidorzi of Winfield shares a chocolate swirl ice cream cone with her great niece Rayani Westerkamp, 3, on Thursday at the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton.
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“There’s a whole list of food,” McGuire said. “And then your ice cream. I think we have four different ice cream vendors this year.”