PECATONICA, Ill. (WIFR) – Thousands of people from across the Rockford area will flock to the Winnebago County Fairgrounds this weekend for the county’s 103rd Annual Fair.
Deb Runte, director of the fair’s board of directors, said most of the problems organizers faced were behind the scenes, but when something happened during the fair, they made sure attendees didn’t have to miss out on their fun.
Amid the food, festivities and fun, organizers of the 103rd Winnebago County Fair this weekend are figuring out little problems, like what to do if a free shopping cart breaks down.
“There’s always something. Can you find the mop bucket? Who took the last set of keys for the toilet paper dispenser?” says Runte. “I’m already working on a list for the 2025 trade fair.”
The rain also marred the diesel truck races on Thursday.
“We knew we had some bigger shows coming up. We said, OK, we’ll sacrifice one show and hope we can make the most of it,” says Runte.
One of them was the Demolition Derby on Sunday in front of a packed grandstand, not to mention the Lumberjack show.
“This way there is a lot of free entertainment to do and we hope that people come and enjoy it. But the special offers on the rides with wristbands for the fair are also good for the children,” says Runte.
Two people who are at the center of this year’s activities are the Queen and Junior Queen of the County.
“The first year we both got runner-up, the second year we both got runner-up, and this year we won, so it had to be that way,” says Junior Miss Winnebago County Fair Queen Stella Foley.
Both Deb and the Queens attribute the electrifying atmosphere to the passion the 4-H children and farmers put into their shows.
“Friday night I was Canadian bacon with a pig. Last night I was the Blues Brothers with a cow. That’s how much fun it is after work,” says Miss Winnebago County Fair Queen Elizabeth Taylor.
After a drop in visitor numbers on Thursday, numbers rose on Friday and on Saturday the site was full of people from opening to closing.
Boone-Stephenson County Beef Producers returned to the fairgrounds this weekend. They were there decades ago and the board brought them back.
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