Boone takes pride in its county fair

Chronicle Media Staff

The Boone County Fair is said to be the largest in the state and Illinois Country Living called it one of the best around.

So fair organizers — the Boone County Grange —had a lot to live up to as they hosted last week’s annual edition in Belvidere, Aug. 8-13.

Officials were reportedly hoping for 200,000 in attendance over a 10-day run and they may have hit that mark thanks to good weather along with usual attractions including carnivals and games, food and at-tractions that included animals ranging from small rabbits to larger cows.

Like any county fair, Boone County’s is full of contrasts between an agricultural focus and just plain fun. At right, cows get cleaned up in preparation for showing. At mid-left, tiny crabs are the prize if the ball lands in just the right spot. At mid-right, families love taking a long, bumpy run down the Power Slide. Below, a sheep gets a careful trim.

A seemingly endless corridor of food vendors (left) entices visitors to the Boone County Fair last week. Hundreds of rabbits (above) were on display waiting to be judges. At lower left, two women enjoy ice cream treats during a break. At left, i’s hard to tell what the prize is at this game booth, but it’s certainly big. At lower right, food gets judged too. Two pieces of zucchini received top honors.

          

–Boone County Fair–