Local County Fairs Need Your Help

One of my greatest childhood memories was going to the county fair; I hadn't missed a year of the Carver County fair until I moved to Iowa back in 2011. It was my friend's and family's one last "hoorah" before going back to school, and as I got older, it was like a high school reunion in the beer tent. It would be a huge bummer to find out that something that was such a big part of my community's lives would be taken away because our politicians couldn't get the states affairs in order.

That's exactly what's happening in Winnebago County this year. WREX reports that the State of Illinois cut more than $60,000 worth of funding from the fair budget; essentially leaving them with zero help.

The Ogle County Fair also saw a cut in their funding and they're asking for your help to fund their 4-H Club premium fund, which helps pay for the places where the kids get to show their animals, arts and crafts, and plants.

Harlan Holm, President of the Ogle County Fair Association, says the money will also help pay young farmers their prize money, money that a lot of these kids use to put towards college.

The Ogle County Fair needs to raise $27,000 in order to pay out prizes to these talented and hard working kids.

Having lived in a community where agriculture is the primary source of survival, I understand how important it is to support these kids and see what they can do with plants and animals; we need them to be successful if we want to keep food on our tables.

If you're interested in supporting our local county fairs, you can check out each link below.

Winnebago County Fair

Ogle County Fair

Stephenson County Fair

Boone County Fair

Lee County Fair