Two chart-toppers headline fair

Ford County Fair

June 23-29

329 E. Third St.

Melvin, Illinois

MELVIN, Ill. — Not one, but two headline acts will team up with the popular Illiana truck and tractor pulls, demolition derby and a full slate of other fun at the 98-year-old Ford County Fair.

The fair kicks off with a horse show and jackpot breeding gilt show Sunday, followed by a packed schedule over the next six days.

Country music artists Rodney Atkins and Chris Cagle will each perform on the main stage Friday night, June 28.

Cagle, who will take the stage first, charted his first song in 2000, “My Love Goes On and On,” and followed that up with multiple more chart-topping hits like “Laredo,” “What Kinda Gone,” “Chicks Dig It” and “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out,” a No. 1 hit.

Cagle’s debut album, “Play it Loud,” hit gold status, and he was an Academy of Country Music nominee for top new male vocalist in 2002. That same year he earned CMT Flameworthy’s Breakthrough Video of the Year Award.

The next act is a country music artist with six No. 1 singles, eight top 5 singles and 3.8 billion career streams. Atkins continues to be recognized as one of the most potent voices in country music.

Atkins, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, charted his first single on the Billboard country chart in 1997.

His first album, “Honesty,” included the hit singles, “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)” and “Watching You,” both of which spent four weeks on top of the country music chart. The album has since been certified platinum.

Atkins has received six nominations from the Academy of Country Music and two from the Country Music Association, winning Top New Male Vocalist Award from the former in 2006.

Illiana Pullers Association-sanctioned truck and tractor pulls are on tap for to nights — June 26-27. Prize money will be awarded in six classes.

The fair’s finale will feature a demolition derby with limited weld, vans, compact and 1980s bone stock classes.

Other highlights include livestock and home judging competitions, rides, the Ford County 4-H premium auction, petting zoo and much more.

Details of the Ford County Fair can be found at fordcountyfair.org.