View from the Cab: Fair adventures

Before venturing south to the land of livestock and corn dogs, also known as the Illinois State Fair, bring along your appetite and cell phone.

The fair has launched a new free app available on both Apple and Android devices. You can find information on livestock shows, grandstand concerts, parking and even barn and restroom locations. App visitors can even participate in a scavenger hunt to unlock codes and win prizes.

Let’s not forget about the food finder feature. This will allow you to find some tasty treats such as the pork chop on a stick courtesy of the Illinois Pork Producers and corn dogs from Vose’s Fine Foods. The Vose stand has been selling corn dogs at the State Fair since 1959 and is a tradition.

For more information or to download the app, visit www.illinois.gov/statefair. As I write this, I am planning to head down to the fair in a few days and I’ll let you know how it went. It was a little warm last year but we still had a fun time.

This week, you can find me parked at the Fairbury Fair near the agriculture display tent at the center of the fairgrounds. Look for the Central Illinois Farm Network booth as I will be doing live broadcasts and interviewing guests. Listen for live reports on WGCY 106.3 FM at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

As we stated in a recent article, Fairbury Fair visitors will notice new restrooms and bleachers. The grounds have been spruced up and hopefully large crowds come out to see what is going on. The antique farm equipment display on Sunday is one of my favorite fair features. It is always neat to see so many old tractors and familiar faces riding through the midway during the afternoon.

The 140th Fairbury Fair runs Aug. 17-21 and more information can be found at www.fairburyfair.com.