Some states may be different, but when it comes to Illinois, fairs, festivals, and carnivals are at the top of the summer to-do list. 

I mean, it would be hard to believe if they weren’t since there are many of them spread through the entire state. But for lack of space in the paper and limited knowledge of events outside of the Illinois Valley, we’ll stay right here. 

If we’re speaking of the fairs and festivals we try our best to cover at The Mendota Reporter and The Amboy News, there is the Lee County Fair & 4-H Show, the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival, Amboy Depot Days, Tri-County Fair, and Hops N Harmony in Sublette from the end of July to the beginning of September.

If you want to add a few from surrounding communities, there is the Bureau County Fair in Princeton, LaSalle Days, Oglesby Days, Buffalo Days in LaMoille and the Petunia Fest in Dixon. I’m probably missing a whole bunch.

But isn’t that the point?

There are so many, and they happen everywhere.

So far, this seems like I’m hating or don’t enjoy the festivals. When I was younger, a teenager, that’s exactly what i was doing. Just seemed like a waste of time.

As I get older, the criticism for the actual event isn’t there.

The last two years, as an ambassador for the Sweet Corn Festival, I have volunteered 20-40 hours over the weekend to help with different aspects of the annual fest. This year, I helped sell 50/50 tickets for Depot Days and made sure I was present for as many of the attractions as I could be. For the Tri-County Fair, I said I would sit in the dunk tank, but thankfully, it didn’t happen.

Now, I know I’ll be in swimming trunks during next year’s fair in Mendota.

Being on the other end and understanding what it takes, from so many people (usually volunteers) is mind blowing and gives a whole other perspective of the good, and the community cohesion a village, town, or city event such as the ones listed below achieve.

Like everything else in life, there are the depressants.

When you hear people bashing the Sweet Corn Fest and why isn’t this here or this there or it isn’t up to their standards. It’s hard to hear those comments when you know the Chamber of Commerce, which funds, staffs, and runs the entire SCF – not the city, is compiled of volunteers.

These volunteers are spending months to gather all the resources, all the aspects of the festival, then organizing, then manually putting together stages, beer gardens, craft vendor areas, then creating 50/50 drawings for you to win money, and an additional 10-15 thens.

Oh, here is 16…then picking up and collecting trash left on the ground two-feet away from a garbage can, which are labeled and are approximately the same size as the residential garbage cans. They are not camouflaged.

The same can be said for the rest of the fairs and festivals, especially the numerous people standing in a shack on a hot day in Amboy selling 50/50 tickets instead of spending time with their families or drinking beverages with their friends.

They took a time out of their life to help you enjoy yours, whether it’s giving you an opportunity to win money, enjoy music, play a game, ride a ride, eat carny (I had to use the word at least once, right?) food, and purchase interesting crafts.

It’s also disheartening to hear, “I don’t go because the fair doesn’t have a carnival” or “There isn’t enough food vendors” or “There isn’t enough for kids to do”.

Because on the other side you’re finding out, the community didn’t fund the carnival before and it put the board in debt and made them take out a loan, there were 10 different types of foods available, but the gripes were about an 11th option, and kids activities were planned, advertised, and held for six hours during the day but families showed up in the seventh hour.

I know we are currently in a complain about everything society. Don’t get me wrong, I do it about certain aspects of life as well.

But when it comes to people going out of their way for the happiness and fun of others, can we please have some grace, understanding, and thanks for what these awesome people are doing…for you.