Cutest Baby Contest

If you believe your newborn to 24 month old baby son/daughter, niece, nephew, cousin (the list goes on) is the cutest baby in Henry County you should enter them in the 2014 Cutest Baby Contest. To enter send a recent "8x10" photos with the appropriate forms to P.O. Box 105 Cambridge, IL 61238. Entries are due by June 9th or after the first 20 submit their photos.
The photos will be on display in the Merchants Building in the "Cutest Baby Contest" booth.
The contest will be held throughout fair week and the winners will be announced on that Sunday. Winners will receive a cash prize of $35 for 1st, $25 for 2nd and $15 for 3rd. Photos can be picked up on Monday June 30th at the fair office until 4 p.m. more rules are listed in the fair book.

Henry County Fair on Instagram

The Henry County Fair is now on Instagram! Follow henrycountyilfair

Guest Post - Olivia Goodley

 Olivia Goodley shares her experience as the 2013 Little Miss Henry County Fair Queen:

Olivia Goodley 2013 Little Miss Henry County Fair Queen

This past year as the 2013 Little Miss Henry County Fair has been very interesting and so much fun! It started with an exciting fair week and I got to pass out trophies and ribbons. We got to ride fun rides like the ROCK-O-PLANE and eat lots of yummy fair food.

I spent a lot of the summer going to other pageants and getting to be in parades. I took lots of pictures and made many memories with Lauren VanDeVelde, Lauren Matson and Kelli.  I also got to do some things with the runners up too. I loved spending time with Brooke and Caroline, Kiersten and Jolee, and Jordan and Molly.  They were awesome and made me laugh a lot!

In parades we got to throw out candy or just wave. There are all kinds of parades, and some are cold, some can be very hot or they can be perfect. Some are during the day and some at night when you can light up your cars.  

Other fair pageants are hot or cold, and even in gyms; the pageants that are in gyms are hot, hot, hot!!!

We went to state pageant, Queen Lauren did AWESOME. Me and Jr. Lauren got to share a room it was a blast. We even went to the pool.

We helped collect and deliver toys for the Toys for Tots program. I donated the bike I won at the pageant.  I hope some little girls is loving that now that it is warm out.  I also was lucky to get many new dresses from the mall and online.  Trivia night was tricky, tricky, tricky and very fun.

Throughout the whole year, my pageant director, Kelli took me, Lauren and Lauren to fun places together. It has been amazing!  I am looking forward to a few more parades and also crowning the new Little Miss Henry County Fair in June.  

Olivia Goodley

2013 Little Miss Henry County Fair

Family Fun on a Budget

It's not expensive to attend the Henry County Fair. There are plenty of budget friendly activities to do at this years Henry County Fair, most are free or low cost. Of course all the livestock shows and art hall exhibits are also free and Granpa Cratchet will perform teaching "Safety First" several times every day on the midway.

On Tuesday at 6 p.m. watch the Equestrian Ambassadors Contest held in the Horse arena and then catch the BLEND at 5 p.m. in the MEC Tent.
Wednesday has MIJA Hunter/Jumper Show at 8:30 a.m., Harness Racing at 1 p.m., the Talent Show at 5 p.m. and the BLEND at 8 p.m.
Thursday at 4 p.m. for a 25 cent entry fee you can enter the sunflower seed spitting contest then see the BLEND perform at 8 p.m.
Friday the 4-H Horse show will be at 9 a.m. in the Horse Arena.
Saturday is $1 entry fee for the bags tournament at 11 a.m. and also for the same entry fee is the kids and adult tractor pull at 1 p.m.
Sunday see the motorcycle race, the only entry fee to get into the grandstand that day is a canned good.

All this for a gate admission of $5.00 per person each day. Children ages 8 and under are always free. The thriftiest way to enjoy the fair is by purchasing a week's gate admissions fun pass for $22.00 if purchased before June 9th. Seniors 65 and older can purchase a fun pass for $15.00. These can all be purchased at the fair office by calling 309-937-3391 and at all Bank Orion locations.

Social Media/Blogging Assistant

With all of the events happening at the Henry County Fair I can't be in several places at once to report all of the exciting action! I am looking for at least one assistant to help report the activities for the Henry County Fair on June 24-29th.

 

Requirements are that they be able to commute to the fair grounds, be available during fair week, be at least in high school or college and know about Twitter, blogging and be "tech savvy." Owning a smart phone is not required, but helpful. Unfortunately,this will not be a paid position, however, it is a tremendous opportunity. If you are interested in this position email fairblogger1859@gmail.com

What it Takes to Show Cattle

Elissa with her Herford heifer, Velvet

Elissa Dynes, a seventh gradeer at Annawan Jr. High, is excited to show her Hereford Heifer, Velvet, at this years Henry County Fair. Elissa  showed cattle for the first time in 2012 and then took a year off from showing cattle last year. She originally purchased two exotic breed heifers from an online auction, for this years Henry County Fair, but neither of them worked out.

So in December, she purchased a Hereford heifer from a local breeder Matt Johnson. Elissa named her Velvet because reminded her of Red Velvet Cake. Velvet is a registered Herford, which means she is a purebred and has papers, similar to what a purebred dog may have.

Velvet is very well cared for, everyday she gets:  led, a balanced diet, brushed and hand watered. When it gets a little warmer, Velvet will also start to be washed. She will also have her hooves trimmed and be clipped for the fair, a kind of bovine pedicure.

Elissa brushes Velvet to prepare her for show 

In March, Elissa arranged Velvet to have her hair clipped. Hereford hair is EXTREMELY difficult to work with because it collects a lot of oil. So the winter hair is shaved to allow the new hair to grow in. Velvet is brushed about 30 minutes a day, every day.

Elissa hopes that Velvet will get a blue ribbon and after the fair Velvet will return home to be artificially inseminated by a purebred Hereford bull that Elissa picked out herself.
Next year Velvet will give birth to a calf and is to have Elissa hopes will show that calf in the 2016 Henry County Fair.

The Junior Beef Show is June 27th with the Open Beef Show the next day.

Volley for Alpha 1

If you and your friends like to play volleyball for a good cause, form a team and sign up for the Henry County Fair's 4th Annual Volley for Alpha-1 on Saturday June 28th at 1 p.m. in the infield. A team can consist of six people and it is optional to bring two substitutes. The entry fee is $120 per team, which also includes the cost of shirts for all of the team members and the winning team will win trophies for each member.

Mail all entries to 408 N. Main St. Cambridge, IL 61238. Entry deadlines are Sunday, June 1st.

All of the proceeds will be donated to the Alpha-1 Association, which provides awareness and education of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, which is a genetic condition that can cause liver disease in children and lung and/or liver disease in adults. More information on Alpha -1 can be found at https://www.alpha1.org/  

Guest Post - Lauren Matson

Lauren Matson, has written a guest post on her experience as 2013 Jr Miss Henry County fair queen.

Lauren Matson
 Jr. Miss Henry County Fair 2013

Representing Henry County as the 2013 Jr. Miss this past year has truly been an amazing experience.  Although it has been packed with events, parades and pageants, I can hardly believe that my year is almost over. I will forever cherish the wonderful people I have met and the relationships I’ve made. If I had to pick, fair week would be my favorite. From sharing fun moments with my court to eating loads of fair food, it was a week I wish I could relive every day. Throughout the summer I attended many other pageants and parades with my Miss Lauren, Little Miss Olivia and pageant director Kelli. I was able to participate in the Younkers Community Days event to raise money for the pageant and Princess Academy, where I had the opportunity to meet young girls and teach them important life skills. At the end of the summer, Lauren and I attended the Illinois State Fair. This was a fun-filled day of meeting other county queens and again, we ate tons of fair food!  A highlight of my year was going to cheer on Queen Lauren with Olivia and many family and friends at the state pageant in January. It was quite an experience to watch as Lauren and 71 other fair queens competed in this amazing event. We could not be more proud of Lauren!  My last few months will include more parades, community service events and fundraisers, and our county pageant in June that is inching its way towards us. It will be a great night to watch all the young girls and ladies compete and crown the 2014 queens. Though my year is coming to a close, the memories will last forever as well as the friendships I’ve made with my queen sisters. I’ve been blessed to be able to enjoy such an experience! 

Pit-Masters Cook Off

If you have a great cook out recipe, you should enter in the Henry County Fair Pit Master's Cook-Off that will be held on Saturday June 28th. There are four classes, Poultry, Ribs, Pork Shoulder, and Chef's Choice and will be judged on three categories: Taste, Tenderness and Presentation.

The entry fee is $40 per class or $150 for all four classes. The rules in the fairbook state the following: The meat will be furnished except for the Chef's Choice Class but you must bring your own cooker, utensils and other equipment that you may need. After expenses, all money will be returned to the Chefs in the form of prize money for each division and the overall winner will receive a $500 bonus. Entries and fees are due by June 9th and other entries will be accepted the day of the show until the Fair Official deems them "closed." 

Meet Jaidyn

Jaidyn Miller is accomplished when it comes to showing hogs. She was the youngest person to win King Hog at the age of four. Now the thirteen year old seventh grader at Annawan Jr. High School, prefers showing crossbreads. But even after showing for nine years, she is undecided about what the best part of showing hogs is, "It's really hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to it would be when I first walk into the ring with my pig. The rush of the first impression feels amazing!"

Jaidyn Miller has won numerous awards from
showing hogs at the Henry County Fair

Once the weather turns nice, Jaidyn will walk her pigs about 2-3 laps each day and washes her pigs using a special livestock soap and soft brush. After a couple of washes, prolate is applied. She also makes sure she give them the nutrients they need, feeding her pigs a mix of steamed rolled oats with 18% Sunglo/Showmaster grower, mixed with
steamed rolled oats and any other supplements that are needed and makes sure they get proper shots.

When fair time arrives, Jaidyn gears up for a full day of work making sure her pigs are properly taken care of. A typical day will be for Jaidyn to wake up at 6 a.m. to go to arrive at the fairgrounds at 6:30 to feed and water the pigs and clean out the pens. After that, she heads to the mini doughnut stand for a quick bite to eat. In the afternoon, she checks the pigs' water and washes them and then takes some time off to hangout and enjoy the fairgrounds with her friends. At night, is the last time she feeds and waters her pigs and cleans out the pens. After checking to make sure the fans are working properly so pigs don't overheat, she heads home for the night around 9 and 10 p.m., but Jaidyn mentions when she isn't competing, her schedule is a bit different. 

"If it's the day of the show, I spend most of the day showing."

Jaidyn Miller shows one of her pigs at the Henry County Fair

She says the special part about the Henry County Fair is the family atmosphere. "

I feel like I have two families, my actual family and my fair-family. All the fair board members and volunteers do everything they can to make the fair 'family friendly,' and I think they do a great job of it!"

Be sure to take time to stop by the hog barn and check out Jaidyn's hogs!