On Friday, Governor Pritzker announced that he was issuing an executive order to cancel both of the Illinois State Fairs which are held annually in Springfield and Du Quoin.
Because of the cancellation of the fairs, the Illinois Department of Agriculture will hold a Junior Livestock Expo in Springfield during the month of September, and the 4-H General Project Show will take place virtually.
The last time the state fair in Springfield was cancelled was from 1942-1945 due to World War II. It was also cancelled in 1862 because of the Civil War, and in 1893 when it was replaced by the World’s Columbia Expo (World’s Fair) in Chicago. This will be the first year that the Du Quoin fair was cancelled since it was taken over by the state.
People who had purchased Illinois State Fair Mega Passes, admissions booklets, or parking passes are asked to contact the faire office at 217-782-6661, by email at agr.fairinfo@illinois.gov.
The 2021 State Fairs are scheduled for August 12th – 22nd in Springfield and August 27th – September 6th in Du Quoin.