By Patrick Baron
BLOOMINGTON – Wednesday marks the beginning of the McLean County Fair, which runs through the following Sunday night.
The fair holds a variety of exhibits and activities for the public to enjoy. One of the biggest aspects of the fair are the 4-H projects that have been created by children in the program. Farm Bureau Manager Mike Swartz explained that the 4-H projects are vital to the fair.
“That’s our cornerstone of our fair, is our 4-H. That’s key to who we are and what we do and showing the public that we’re a youth based event, and these kids become our adults and our community leaders,” Swartz said.
Yet the fair doesn’t stop at the 4-H exhibits. As Swartz continued to explain, the fair offers much more, at no cost to those attending the event.
“We have a wonderful food court full of fair food for those who want to come out and enjoy it. We have a great family carnival that comes down from the Chicago area and puts on a wonderful fair for us with carnival rides, and then free-on-grounds entertainment we have a wonderful farm exhibit, Farm Food and Fun Zone. All these things I mentioned are going to be free,” said Swartz.
And if people get hungy while at the fair, they are offering beef product from McLean County producers on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while pork will be available Thursday and Saturday. Other events include pig races, alligator wrestling, and comedy and magic shows.
Patrick Baron can be reached at patrick.baron@cumulus.com.
