The Art Hall

Like most fairs of its kind, the Cumberland County Fair has an Art Hall for people to display their homemade handiworks.  For the cost of a quarter per item (generally), you can submit your work to be judged in numerous categories.  WInning means a ribbon and as much as a couple of dollars in prize money.  

In years gone by, ladies would enter things like quilts, embroidery, cross-stitch, and clothing - anything they had made to pass the previous long winter.  One can only imagine competition was fierce.  

Antique quilt

Few people make quilts anymore but if there are any to find, it is certainly in rural Illinois.  There is the popular antique quilt category but there are always a couple of newer pieces that are entered.  

I'm not much of a seamstress but I always enter my photographs in several categories, including Illinois Farm scene, and Fair scene.  Alas, my cousin Rachael almost always beats me. In addition to a good photographer's eye, she is also a great artist and enters several of her paintings and drawings. 

See, she got the blue ribbon - again!

One of the other fun categories to see is the collections section.  Pack rats and antiquers alike can enjoy the set of buttons, campaign pins, pencils, old photos, costume jewelry and snow globes.

Button collection

Costume jewelry

You never know exactly what you will find in that section. Or who will win.  Last year my uncle decided to enter one of the fishing nets he made and he took home a red ribbon!

It is wonderful to see the talent on display at the Art Hall, but it is also comforting to know that there are people who still know how to tat, quilt, and weave.  

Support the Tradition

County fairs are a tradition that bring generations together year after year.  I am lucky enough to have family in the Greenup, Illinois area.  We would often time our trip to be during the Cumberland County Fair.  I remember thinking how neat it was that all these people knew my mom, but when she was a kid.  In fact, I would often be mistaken for her, despite our age difference.  My grandfather was a stockholder in the fair so he would give us the parking pass.  And he took tickets at the west end of the grandstand so we always would visit him there.  

In more recent years, I started taking my fiance.  He now knows many of the vendors and regulars by name.  It is a comforting part of the year.  It is a family reunion, but one that brings the entire community together.  For some, it is the only time we see each other all year.

Now, this essential part of our collective lives is in danger.  Attendance has waned over the years but state funding has been cut significantly this coming year.  Last year, granted funds to promote fairs throughout the state account for 63% of their budget.  This year, it will only fulfill 16% of the budget.  There is talk that this will be the last year of the Cumberland County Fair.

This would be a tragedy.

So we are trying to do what we can to save the Cumberland County Fair, and support the tradition of rural fairs everywhere.

If you have a story about this fair, or others like it, let us know.  We want to share those stories.

If you know a celebrity who would be willing to appear to raise money for the fair, let us know.

If you yourself would like to donate to the fair, let us know.

In the coming days and weeks, keep checking here for memories and stories about the Cumberland County Fair.