Community Af-fair

from North Central Illinois Ag Mag - Fall 2021

Amazing aronia

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON The Bureau County Fair hosts a variety of events year-round.

The Bureau County Fairgrounds is a community gathering spot all year

By Katlyn Sanden

For 166 years, people have flocked to the Bureau County Fairgrounds for five-star entertainment every August, with the exception of the Civil War in 1862 and the Covid pandemic in 2020. Whether you’re into livestock, music, tractor pulls, demo derbies, carnival rides and games, food, or home economic projects, there’s something for everyone at the Bureau County Fair.

Those successful shows don’t happen without the support and volunteer efforts of the community.

“The fair is made up of a lot of volunteers,” said Bureau County Agricultural Board President Francis Morse. “The people came out to support us. Things looked a little light, but overall things looked pretty good.”

This year’s fair kicked off on Aug. 25th by unveiling the never-seen-before Legacy Brick Wall. The Legacy Brick Wall was organized by the Bureau County Fair Foundation to encourage the use of the fairgrounds.

“We have a lot of people on it that were part of the fair years ago,” Morse said. “Volunteers were recognized. We’re going to continue that into the future. There’s a lot of history on that wall. That’s a positive.”

The goal of the Legacy Brick Wall is to honor those that have impacted the fair in whatever ways they uniquely could. Fair-goers are encouraged to buy a legacy brick for anyone whom they’d like to honor. Past board presidents, radio hosts, fair queens, and numerous volunteers are just a few who are already displayed. Funds from the bricks go back to the fair to help ensure the fair goes on for generations to come. The current wall stands beside the fair office, but the board hopes to grow it so much that pillars will be added.

The rest of this year’s fair was filled with all the favorites – concerts, demo derbies, tractor pulls, livestock shows, and so much more.

“Overall, I was pleased,” said Morse of the 2021 fair. “The community and the volunteers

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON The barns at the Bureau County Fairgrounds in Princeton are used for many different attractions.

PHOTO BY SCOTT ANDERSON David Mead, organizer of the Nightmare on Fairgrounds Road, poses in one of the decorated barns.

showed up. It was a very smooth-running fair.”

But the fairgrounds are used year-round for much more than the annual county fair. Dave Mead, who also volunteers at the fair and heads up the annual haunted fairgrounds event, said there are more people working behind the scenes than meets the eye. Fair time or not, there’s always something going on at the fairgrounds.

“They (the volunteers and community) come out because they care about the fair,” Mead said. “We have some very nice facilities. It may not be high dollar, but we can create a very memorable event at a very minimal price.”

Mead stepped into his role 18 years ago in hopes of helping the fair make a little extra money to get through the winter by organizing the Haunted Fairgrounds. Since then, it has exploded in popularity.

“Halloween is right behind Christmas with the amount of money people spend,” said Mead. “We have become the number one fundraiser for the fairgrounds. This is still a small-scale operation. We don’t have a two-million-dollar budget. We still have to compete and bring people in.”

Mead said the secret to the success of the Haunted Fairgrounds event is the talented team of volunteers who step up to the plate because they simply enjoy Halloween.

“You’ll see stuff here you’ll never see anywhere else,” Mead said. “We have custom-made props, hand-made set designs. We can provide a night’s entertainment for $15 and are very proud of it. Our goal is to entertain you from the minute you park your car to the time you leave. We want you to be completely entertained.”

Haunted fair-goers saw an entire animated zombie scene, unlike anything else, and a sunken pirate ship scene where they actually felt like they were wading through waste-deep water due to special effects.

There was also something for the paranormal activity lovers too. Mead said Spirits of the Night came out and hunted for ghosts, similar to what is on the Travel Channel.

“They look for heat signatures and recordings,” said Mead. “They (Spirits of the Night) go all over the state. You have to tie the entertainment in with real things. They found a recording of what was an old board member that none of us knew. They researched who it could be and identified him. He’s still on these grounds.”

Mead said they had one other paranormal finding with another similar fair enthusiast that allegedly haunts the Allen Building at night. Haunted Fairgrounds ran Friday and Saturday nights through October.

Throughout the remainder of the year, the Bureau County Agricultural Board aims to

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have something going on to bring in revenue for the grounds, whether it is a gun show, toy collector show, job fair, flea markets, weddings, or winter boat/camper storage. An upcoming new feature for this year is the Home for the Holidays Light Show, which will debut on Dec. 4.

Jenica Cole, Executive Director of the Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce and Princeton Tourism, said the ultimate goal of this event is to spread holiday cheer, while giving families something to look forward to after these uncertain 18 months.

“It’s very important to the chamber and the fair to work together to host new events,” Cole said. “These type of events not only benefit and strengthen our community, but they also put the spotlight on Princeton and Bureau County, attracting visitors to see what we are all about and possibly come back. We chose the name ‘Home for the Holidays’ because we kept getting comments on how much it feels like home here, and we want people visiting to feel that sense of home as well. We want visitors to want to come back to Princeton.”

Home for the Holidays Light Show is another way for the community to get involved to ensure the fair goes on for generations to come. It will run from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday from Dec. 4 to Jan. 1.

Cole added that Home for the Holidays will set the theme for the rest of Princeton’s holiday events, including the 5K, parade, and window display contest.

“We want this Christmas to be magical,” said Cole. “A huge thank you to our businesses for stepping up to sponsor our 50-plus light display, as well as a few local families. We most certainly couldn’t have pulled this off without them.”

“We are very excited about this event,” Morse said.

For more information on how to get involved with the Bureau County Fair, Haunted Fairgrounds, or Home for the Holidays, visit bureaucountyfair.com.