April 28, 2024
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5 things to do in the Illinois Valley: Bureau County Fair and high school football

Fair, circus, high school football and a visit from the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall among the events

By Shaw Local News Network

The Bureau County Fair runs through Sunday, Aug. 27, in Princeton. (Scott Anderson - sanderson@shawmedia.com)

1. Bureau County Fair: There will be plenty of fair exhibits and live music throughout the event that runs through Sunday at the Bureau County Fairgrounds, 811 W. Peru St., Princeton. Country music stars Josh Turner and Sara Evans will perform beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The carnival will be open 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, 1 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Other highlights of the fair include the Illini State Pullers at 5:30 p.m. Friday; Bureau County Fair BBQ Rib Cook-Off at noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; the demolition derby at 4 p.m. Saturday; the figure eight demo race 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Go to https://www.bureaucountyfair.com/ for more information or a full schedule of events.

Names on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall at the VFW Post 4600 in McHenry, on Friday, July 14, 2023. The 3/5 scale wall Will be at the post and open to the public until Sunday evening and will hold an opening ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Memorial Wall escort will be 9:45 a.m. Thursday, with a lineup beginning at 9:15 a.m. at Target parking lot, 4370 Venture Drive, Peru. (Gregory Shaver — gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver Shaw Media )

2. Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall: The Memorial Wall escort will be 9:45 a.m. Thursday, with a lineup beginning at 9:15 a.m. at Target parking lot, 4370 Venture Drive, Peru. The escort will travel south on Peoria Street to Veterans Memorial Park. The wall will be set up in the park from Thursday through Monday. An opening ceremony will be at 11 a.m. Saturday with guest speakers, a band and a flyover. Along with the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, there will be replicas of the Middle East Conflicts Wall and the 9/11 First Responders Wall. Admission is free. Donations are welcome. All proceeds will go to the Illinois Veterans Home in La Salle.

3. Culpepper and Merriweather Circus: The circus will put on a show at 2 p.m. and again at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Earlville School, 415 W. Union St. The 90-minute circus features animals and aerialists under a big top tent. Advance tickets are $8 for a child/senior and $13 for an adult, and same-day tickets are $9 for a child/senior and $16 for an adult. Advance tickets can be bought at Tri-County Veterinary Service, First State Insurance, The Barbershop, The Lounge or Sandy’s Shear Magic. Go to www.cmcircus.com for more information or to buy tickets.

Tonica Fest will be set up Friday and Saturday on La Salle Street in the village's downtown. (Tom Collins)

4. Tonica Fest: The village will host its annual summer festival Friday and Saturday on downtown La Salle Street. Comedian Tyler Fowler will provide entertainment 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and 3-Day Weekend 8 to 11 p.m. Saturday. The Jeep Jam is set 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and the Tonica Cruise-In is 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday. There will be food trucks, a petting zoo, magician and ax throwing Friday, then a dunk tank, face painting and inflatables Saturday. The parade is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The inaugural Folty 5k Run/Walk is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Go to https://www.facebook.com/VillageofTonica for more information.

5. Friday night lights: High school football kicks off Friday night. Streator, Seneca, Flanagan-Cornell Woodland and Fieldcrest will be home. Ottawa, Marquette, Mendota, La Salle-Peru, Hall and St. Bede each are on the road.

Would you like your event featured in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to The Times, NewsTribune or Bureau County Republican’s community calendar at starvedrockcountry.com/local-events/ where they are then considered for inclusion in this feature.