The Corduroy

A few years ago, a young band from Villa Park played the DuPage County Fair's local talent night. Two months later, their song "Hey There Delilah" was the No. 1 song in the country. That band was the Plain White T's, and in 2007, they played the local stage at the DuPage County Fair.

Since it worked so well the last time, fair officials decided to go dedicate July 23 to the talent in DuPage County when the artist B.o.B. canceled. Gold Motel featuring Greta Morgan, formerly of The Hush Sound, will perform instead. The Hush Sound, originally from Wheaton, was on the bill when the Plain White T's played.

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Carrie McQueen of Atlanta entertains a crowd while on stilts at a previous edition of the DuPage County Fair in Wheaton.
(Sun-Times Media File)

In addition, several local bands will perform that day, including bands such as Kensington Update, Flipside, The Corduroy, and Pink Floyd tribute band Comfortably Floyd.

"Everything that takes place that day celebrates DuPage County," said fair board President Tom McGuire. "We did DuPage Rocks a few years ago. After one act canceled, we were looking for new thing to do this evening, and we went back to one we had a great success with, and that is DuPage Rocks. I'm looking forward to this. I think it's a lot more fun, a lot more local flavor."

Other entertainment at the fair includes American Idol runner-up Danny Gokey on Wednesday and the Michael Jackson Laser Spectacular on July 22. July 24 is Blues Night, featuring Chicago bluesmen Lonnie Brooks and Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater. Brooks is a newly inducted member of the Blues Hall of Fame.

Two shows of the ever-popular Demolition Derby will be July 25.

Naturally, the fair includes animal displays and competitions, commercial and agricultural exhibits, horse shows, home economics contests, several free activities in the Entertainment Tent, the Balster's Magic Stage and the Kid Bucks Stage, two food courts, the fish tank, Ag-ventureland, the ninth annual DuPage County Fair Talent Contest, and the carnival, said McGuire.

He pointed out that some of the free family attractions include: cow milking demonstrations, duck races, an agriculture magic show, petting zoo, hatching chicks, Buttons the Clown, pig races, a stilt walker, antique tractors, blacksmith, and sheep shearing and wool spinning demonstrations. There will also be Boots & Britches with their 1923 Dream Camper show and exhibit.

On Wednesday, any Scout in uniform will get free fair admission to celebrate 100 years of Scouting and Campfire Girls, he said.

"There's good food, fun, and a lot of neat carnival specials," he said. "We're doing a lot this year to make it family-friendly and affordable."

Once again, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will bring a display of fish that can be caught in local waters, and DuPage Stormwater Management will offer kids hands-on activities, McGuire said.

Open class

DuPage residents are welcome to enter their projects in the open class competitions, he said.

So bring your woodworking, your sewing, your baking and your photography -- there's prize money to be had. There are several new classes this year, including Oriental style flower arranging, shot glass displaying, Mexican wedding cookies, and arts and crafts items made of at least 80 percent reused, recycled or found materials.

"We also have a couple contests open to the public," he said. "We have the Ghirardelli Chocolate Championships, as well as the King Arthur Flour cake contest. Prizes will be awarded for both of those."

If you want to make something for an excellent cause, fair attendees are invited to sew a pillowcase for a child with a life-changing illness, McGuire said, as part of the One Million Pillowcase Challenge sponsored by American Patchwork & Quilting. The pillowcases will be donated to Central DuPage and Edward hospitals, and anyone bringing in a pillowcase will get free fair admission July 21, 22 or 23 with a paid adult admission.

The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company is asking participants to submit their most decadent chocolate recipe for a dessert or treat, using at least one Ghirardelli baking product. The first place winner will take home $150 and a Ghirardelli chocolate gift basket. The contest is at 9 a.m. July 24.

The King Arthur Flour Great Cake Contest will award prizes to the top three finishers for the best cake. That contest is at 10 a.m. July 24.

"We also have a contest challenging all the communities in the county to bring the best apple pie of their community, and we'll see which town can have the best apple pie in DuPage County. That's the mayor's challenge this year," McGuire said. "We were going back and forth on different things, trying to reach a larger variety of people and interests, and touch on the diversity DuPage County has. We're still an agricultural fair, but we're trying to find things that interest more people in the community."

That's the key to a successful fair -- diversifying to reach a wider audience while maintaining its agricultural roots, he said. Families can have a good time for a relatively low amount of money in Ag-ventureland, he said.

"We talk about the role agriculture has played and will continue to play in our world," he said. "We have the pedal tractors for kids, they can see how to milk a cow, see chicks being hatched, (and see) an area for old farm equipment. They can enjoy it and learn from it to see how things were done, and how things have changed over the years. Families can spend a lot of time in that area and keep yourself and the kids busy for quite some time."

Even though there aren't many farms left in the area, 4-H is still a large part of the fair, he said.

"We still have kids showing livestock, who are participating in showing Wednesday through Saturday in different categories," he said. "4-H is alive and well in DuPage County. There are a number of clubs in our county and they'll always be a part of our fair.

"We invite people to come and celebrate DuPage County." - Naperville Sun

Corduroy came to existence in the fall of 2008. Joining forces with Laumbacher, both Sinnott and Porlier had worked together since 2005 with former band, Business Before Pleasure.

"We meet a lot of interesting people at our shows, like at our New Year's Eve show, we met these go-go dancers and they actually got on stage and danced to the music." - Sinnott - College of DuPage Courier - Article by Molly Hess, A&E Editor