Living In A Barn: Duquoin State Fair

We spent the remainder of our time out at the Duquoin State Fair. We have been going to this fair ever since we quit going to the Mid-South Fair in Memphis. We used to just go up for the day and I always was so jealous of the people who were camping there and got to go to the fair for days. Even a lot of the locals park their campers there and take in the fair. They have a beautiful camping area with around 1000 sites. The first year we went we had to camp way out at the end of the camping area. We liked it there and have camped in that area ever since. We always meet such nice people while we are there. This fair still promotes agriculture. There are tons of tractors and equipment on display which is where Tommy spends most of his time. They also still have hogs, cattle(both beef and dairy), and sheep shows. This year they discontinued the mules and draft horses which distressed me, even though we weren't going to be there for those days. In the past I spent a lot of time watching the mules and horses show. While we were there, they were showing beef cattle and hogs. I still have a soft spot for the hogs, since we were involved with them so many years. There is no other animal with the personality of a pig. A lot of people ask me about the food there. I have never been impressed with their fair food. It may taste wonderful(I don't know), but it is in no comparison to the ambience of the Mid-South Fair food. I used to just love to walk around there and enjoy all the different smells of food. And I can't understand the reason that it is not the same at Duquoin. I have a weakness for the petting zoo exhibits too. This year they had a good one. Their free entertainment this year was mainly dealing with motorcycles and cars and trucks doing stupid things. I could have done without seeing that. They also have a lot of campers on display for you to look at.

They have an opening day parade that runs down through town and ends in the fairgrounds. We have never been there for this and it was a bit disappointing, but seems like the locals come out in full force to watch it. This was a tumbling group from Chicago who would walk along and then pull out their mat and do some acrobatics.

This pic is for my grandson, Joseph. He is a big fan of Lightning McQueen. I have no idea who these people are in this pic. I could never get one of just Lightning, because there was always somebody getting their picture taken with him.

This is one of the food places that is always at the fair.

This is a pic I took while sitting in the grandstands watching the harness racing. We got to go see the races on Friday night and I went back again Saturday. I really do enjoy this event. The only thing is it is over before you know it. The track is called the Magic Mile and has a long history of harness racing.

This is a mural on the lower level of the grandstands. We sat on this bench one night and listened to Billy Currington perform at the grandstands. It was fun to just watch the people who walked by. You see all kinds here.

These are some of the market hogs the young people had there to show. I loved the markings this last pig had.

This little girl was excercising her pig in the barn. This brought back a lot of good memories of Bonny and Julie showing their pigs at the fairs.

This Watusi cow in the first pic had the calf in the next pic on the first day of the fair. I was there when it had just been born and she must have been a first calver, because she didn't seem to know what to do. I felt sorry for her having to calve in front of so many people. The next time I saw them they had it all worked out and were doing fine. This zebra was so beautiful.