Busy days for Ford County Fair attendees

MELVIN – The final few days of the Ford County Fair at Melvin will likely see a lot of people on the grounds.

Nashville acts Canaan Smith and LOCASH perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday and the demolition derby is Saturday with great crowds expected for both, although the number of cars for the derby won’t be known until the day of the event.

“I’m expecting to have 1,500 to 2,000 people here Friday night,” Fair President Kirk Miller told The Central Illinois Farm Network this week. “The weather looks great.”

Aside from this week’s rain event, Miller considers the early week fair turnout “excellent” with strong support shown for the horse show and queen pageant. Ten girls competed for queen which is the biggest group the fair has seen in recent years.

The honor went to Audrey Bloomquist of Paxton – a 2016 graduate of PBL High School. She plans to attend the University of Wisconsin Madison in the fall, majoring in political science.

“Without the sponsors we have for the queen pageant and all the other events around here, we wouldn’t be able to put on the events we do,” added Miller.