The 2024 edition of the Illinois State Fair officially opened on August 8. In the morning, there was a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by the annual Twilight Parade in the evening.

One of the event’s longstanding traditions is the construction and unveiling of the butter cow, a full-size sculpture made of roughly 500 pounds of unsalted butter on display in the Dairy Building.

The daily schedule for the Fair includes Agriculture Day on the first Friday, followed by Kids Day on Saturday, then Veterans and Gold Star Families Day, Senior & Scout Day, “Twosday,” Governor’s Day, Republican Day, First Responder & Healthcare Heroes Day, and then finally wrapping up the closing weekend with Park District Conservation Day followed by Family Day.

Grandstand concerts throughout the Fair duration include Keith Urban, Motley Crue, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Jordan Davis, Lil Wayne, the Jonas Brothers, Miranda Lambert, and Shaboozey.

There will also be USAC and ARCA racing at the Grandstand during the final weekend. For more information, visit https://statefair.illinois.gov/.