Mercer County Fair opens Tuesday in Aledo

By J.C. Taylor | Sunday, July 09, 2006

ALEDO, Ill. — Mercer County is set to usher in the 2006 Mercer County Fair this week.

The event runs Tuesday through July 16 at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Aledo.

Fair week kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with the Mercer County Fair Queen Pageant. Seven candidates are vying for the crown. The contestants are: Ashley Burrill, Rebekah Clark, Elyse Whitehall, and Nicole Yung all of Aledo, Kayla Houdyshell of New Boston, Sara Munson of Joy, and Danielle Smith of Sherrard.

“I am excited about what we have this year,” said pageant director Joni Caldwell of Viola. “We have a quality group of girls and it should be another competitive pageant.”

There are 23 Little Miss contestants and 18 Junior Miss contestants who also will compete at the pageant.

On Wednesday night, the featured grandstand event is stock car races at 6:30 p.m. Thursday features a Veteran’s Appreciation ceremony at 6 p.m. followed by a draft horse pull at 7 p.m.

On Friday, there will be a truck and tractor pull at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the demolition derby is the main event at 6:30 p.m. There is also two days of harness racing at noon on both Saturday and Sunday.

Admission each night is $6 for adults and $2 for children ages 7 to 12. A season pass is $15.

This year marks the 153rd year for the Mercer County Fair.