By Blake Haas
SPRINGFIELD – As smart phones have become such a huge part of our lives today, the Illinois State Fair is stepping into the 21st century.
The fair has designed an app that brings the fair grounds into the palm of your hands.
The new mobile app provides fair goers information ranging from daily scheduled events, to parking and much more.
“We have a full satellite image of different venders,” said Illinois State Fair Spokesman Shawn Mayernick. Let’s say that you want to do the ag experience tour, you can simply click on the ag experience button and it will pull up those pins where you can go on the experience yourself.”
The mobile app also helps you find food favorites and winners from different competitions held at the fair.
“In the app we have all of the food vendors and merchants voted in,” added Mayernick. “You will be able to type in what you want, and it will pull it up on the GPS map and it will take you right there.”
The app has a built in GPS system that is linked to everything going on at the fair, and will also provide many fun activities to take part in.
The mobile app lets fair goers have access to deals and discounts on the fairgrounds. They will also have the ability to buy tickets to concerts and other events, and take a self guided tour of the various agriculture destinations on the fairgrounds.
“If you want to do all of the free entertainment, we have on one of the days, 47 different free shows,” said Mayernick. “All you have to do is pull up the schedule, click the free shows button and it pulls you there. Or if you want to do the livestock shows on ag day, the app helps you understand where everything is.”
The recently developed app will also take fair goers on a scavenger hunt around the fairgrounds to different locations to unlock codes for free prizes.
The State Fair mobile app is available for free for both Apple and Android devices.
Blake Haas can be reached at Blake.Haas@cumulus.com.
