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A long weekend at the Tri-County Fair · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: A Long Weekend at the Tri-County Fair, written by Matthias Warner.
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlit. The animals were fed, the houses
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  Speaker 1: were bounced in, the drinks were cold, and the vehicles
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  Speaker 1: were racing over the long holiday weekend at the Tri-County
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  Speaker 1: Fair in Mendota. The five-day event at the Mendota Fairgrounds
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  Speaker 1: provided visitors with an opportunity to to be entertained and
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  Speaker 1: catch up with old friends as the change of season approached.
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  Speaker 1: This is just a good hometown fair that has a
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  Speaker 1: little bit of everything for everybody. Tri-County Fair board member
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  Speaker 1: Peggy Younglove said, we have a good variety of everything
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  Speaker 1: that gives people something worth coming out here to do.
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  Speaker 1: The fair, which dates back to 1873, included many icons
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  Speaker 1: of summertime Americana. In addition to the heat, the Tri-County
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  Speaker 1: Fair housed entertaining games and activities for kids like bounce houses,
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  Speaker 1: face painting, giveaways, and of course, plenty of fried food
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  Speaker 1: and cold beverages. The highlight during the day for many
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  Speaker 1: fairgoers was the petting zoo, complete with creatures from across
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  Speaker 1: the animal kingdom that kids were able to engage with
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  Speaker 1: and feed. Llamas, sheep, zebras, camels, cows, pigs, goats, and
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  Speaker 1: ponies all enticed the kids and anyone who could spare
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  Speaker 1: some food to engage. As the sun waned, visitors' attention
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  Speaker 1: moved to the motocross track, where four different motorsports took
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  Speaker 1: center stage over the Labor Day weekend. These are the
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  Speaker 1: kind of key events that keep people coming every year
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  Speaker 1: and bring everybody to the fair, Tri-County Fair Secretary Carol
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  Speaker 1: Raymer said. The grandstand and track pit crowd witnessed truck
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  Speaker 1: and tractor pulls, the megacross shootout, stock car races, and
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  Speaker 1: the demolition derby, providing different views into the motocross landscape.
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  Speaker 1: Throughout the entirety of the fair, visitors were able to
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  Speaker 1: check out various vendors, with a wide assortment of products
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  Speaker 1: ranging from custom clothes and accessories to plushy toys and artwork.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's a healthy mix of things to do
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  Speaker 1: and experience, Younglove said. Something else was prevalent throughout the fair,
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  Speaker 1: yet it was less tangible than the products available for sale,
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  Speaker 1: the food fed to the animals at the petting zoo
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  Speaker 1: or the sights and sounds of the motocross track community.
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  Speaker 1: It was not uncommon for visitors, vendors, or workers to
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  Speaker 1: to stop and talk with their neighbors for long, extended
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  Speaker 1: periods of time. Raymer said that one of the reasons
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  Speaker 1: the Tri-County Fair has been able to sustain for more
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  Speaker 1: than 150 years is the connection that it provides for
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  Speaker 1: those who choose to participate. This gets people to come out,
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  Speaker 1: enjoy the weather, and meet up with friends. That is
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  Speaker 1: what fairs are for, she said. You get to come
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  Speaker 1: see what your neighbors have been up to. Above the
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  Speaker 1: entertainment and events that characterize fairs, Providing a platform for
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  Speaker 1: that connection with those in the community is as big
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  Speaker 1: a component of the Tri-County Fair as anything else. Christopher Chasteen,
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  Speaker 1: owner of Memory and More Tiles, made his second appearance
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  Speaker 1: at the Tri-County Fair, and this time brought his mother
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  Speaker 1: to share in the experience. Stories of family members, recent events,
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  Speaker 1: and communal developments flowed over the long weekend, passing the time,
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  Speaker 1: and helping reconnect or make new relationships. We go to
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  Speaker 1: a lot of these shows and fairs, and a lot
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  Speaker 1: of work goes into it, but it's worth it when
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  Speaker 1: you see what it's like, he said. The excitement surrounding
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  Speaker 1: events like the Tri-County Fair often stems from the high-flying
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  Speaker 1: motorsports and the lovable animals, yet the underrated component of
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  Speaker 1: seeing an old friend or making a new one is
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  Speaker 1: what long-time attendees often say brings the five-day event together.
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  Speaker 1: This is just one of those things that we don't
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  Speaker 1: want to let go of as a community, Younglove said.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.