PARIS, Ill. — In January 2021, with Illinois COVID-19 restrictions still in place, the Edgar County Fair Board decided to roll the dice.
“We started in January. We were planning just like we always do, like we were having a normal fair. We were planning to go ahead just like usual,” said Terri Wheeler-Quinn, fair board secretary.
The 2021 Edgar County Fair will go ahead just like usual, with a new motorsport attraction and a list of fair favorites. The fair takes place July 17-24 at the Edgar County Fairgrounds, 1104 N. Main Street, Paris.
“It’s very exciting for us. We have everything locked in and ready to go. We just have to do the prep work,” Wheeler-Quinn said.
This is the 159th Edgar County Fair.
The return of a popular band from Indiana, PS Dump Your Boyfriend/Pfreak Show, gets things started on Saturday, July 17.
“We had them in 2019 and they are an awesome band. They play all kinds of music and there really is something for everybody, really something for every age group,” Quinn said.
A new motorsport event this year is the Junkyard Autocross. A mix of motocross, with a dirt pattern course that includes turns and jumps, and demolition derby, with demo-quality vehicles occasionally colliding as they maneuver around the course and navigate the jumps, the Junkyard Motocross starts at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21.
The Edgar County Fair Queen pageant returns on Sunday, July 18, at 7 p.m.
A major draw every year is the demolition derby. That starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 24.
Another event that will return in 2021 is the Xtreme Roughstock Tour Rodeo, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 22.
“We had that in 2019 and it was a huge hit here,” Wheeler-Quinn said.
Harness racing is another tradition at the Edgar County Fair and the only change this year is that the racing will start at 5 p.m. instead of earlier in the afternoon.
A local carnival company, Swyear Amusements from New Athens, will present the carnival midway. The carnival opens on Tuesday night, July 20, and runs through Saturday, July 24.
Along with the grandstand events and carnival, the fair also features fair exhibits and livestock shows, starting with the open meat goat show on Saturday, July 17, and with shows and judging continuing through the week.
Admission to the fairgrounds is free and tickets are required for the grandstand events.
For more information, go to edgarcountyfair.com or call the fair office at 217-465-5379.
Edgar County Fair
July 17-24
1104 N. Main St., Paris, Illinois