The 2023 edition of the Illinois State Fair officially opened on August 10^th, with a formal ribbon cutting in the morning, 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 is made of roughly 500 pounds of unsalted butter that is on display in the Dairy Building.

Fair organizers have switched up the themed days for 2023, with Agriculture Day being moved to 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 include Old Dominion on the first Friday evening, followed by The Doobie Brothers on Saturday, Alanis Morissette on Sunday, REO Speedwagon on Tuesday, Alter Bridge on Wednesday, Tim McGraw on Thursday, Chevelle on Friday, Maren Morris on Saturday, and finally Nelly on the final Sunday of the fair.

There will also be USAC and ARCA racing at the grandstand during the final weekend.

For more information, visit https://statefair.illinois.gov/.

And don’t forget, the Du Quoin State Fair runs in Southern Illinois from August 25^th to September 4^th. You can find more information on that event at: https://dsf.illinois.gov/.