Du Quoin fair offers myriad of experiences

DU QUOIN, Ill. — What makes a state fair so unique is it provides multiple, wide-ranging experiences within the same day.

“You can go to the rodeo, then go to a night show, then go to the carnival and then go watch free entertainment,” Luke Davison, Du Quoin State Fair manager, said.

“It’s one of those things where, and a lot of residents do this, if you come four, five, or six times, you can have four or five completely different fair experiences. Like, that’s the night we’re going to go to the demolition derby, then that night we’re going to go to the night show.”

This year’s fair, which runs from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7, also features a grandstand lineup of multiple nationally renowned artists, from Wiz Khalifa to Night Ranger to Randy Houser.

“We also have a tremendous free entertainment lineup. I would be totally remiss if I did not talk about the idea that providing families and groups with the opportunity for free entertainment, whether that be your industry-based entertainment on the grounds, like the strolling entertainment or someone doing a chainsaw carving or someone doing some other sort of demonstration,” Davison said.

“The notion that you can walk up and see that entertainment, you don’t have to pay to watch it, or you can stand and watch for 15 minutes and then move on to the next thing, that’s really what every fair and this year’s fair is all about. We’ve got tremendous amount of entertainment for people.”

A centerpiece of the fair is the various competitive events.

“We’ve got a robust livestock exhibiting schedule. That’s an area that we always want to highlight as foundational, which is the opportunity for young people to come out here and compete. People don’t necessarily make that association if they’re not a part of that community, but this is an important competition ground for young people and families that work year-round to procure different types of livestock and the day-in and day-out work training that livestock,” Davison said.

“This is a place where they get to showcase their hard work and that’s going to be an important part of this year’s fair, as well.”

Ag Education

The fair also showcases agriculture for urban visitors to enjoy and learn from.

“Our our executive team and our administration here at the fairgrounds is really focused on the idea of ag education. We have a Thank a Farmer lot, which is an entire lot dedicated to agriculture in Illinois where we have different native plant beds,” Davison said.

“This year we have a 12-foot carving of an ear of corn that’s going to be going on throughout the fair with a local woodcarver demonstrating every day, making this very large ear of corn that will be affixed here year-round.

“We have an interactive AI inflatable barn with multiple characters that teaches kids about agriculture in Illinois and some of the facts surrounding different livestock and different crops.

“We also have different activities for families to learn about agriculture. We have a barn for cattle, a barn for swine, a barn for wheat, a barn for corn so that people can walk through and learn about those things.

“Even though that’s a fun activity, it’s also tantamount to the perpetuation of Illinois as an ag industry state and for its residents to appreciate how important the ag industry is and ag education is to not just the state fair, but to these regions.”

Hometown Fair

The Du Quoin State Fair has been a part of Davison’s life since he was a youngster, having been born and raised in the community, giving him a unique, firsthand perspective of its operations from his time selling programs and working on the maintenance side.

“It continues to be kind of a surreal experience having grown up in Du Quoin,” said Davison, who was named fair manager in 2024.

“Being a native of this town, having so many people in Du Quoin and the surrounding region with ties to the fair for many years, I worked here five seasons from late spring until I would go to college. I was working in maintenance then, now called buildings and grounds.

“My dad used to work the horse races and the motorcycle races. He and my mom, who were high school sweethearts, both worked as ushers at the night shows when they were in high school back in the late ‘60s. It’s just one of those things where everyone has those sorts of ties and those stories about the fair.

“So, growing up, selling programs myself at horse races and then working in maintenance here in the summers, mowing, weed-eating, painting and doing all sorts of different things. Now, working on the administrative side, it has been a surreal experience.

“I feel very privileged to kind of help facilitate whatever we can to keep the fairground strong year-round and to continue its function as an economic engine for the region.”

Ins And Outs

With his own experience working on the maintenance side, Davison can relate to the work the staff does on a daily basis.

“It’s funny. I don’t regale the buildings and grounds crew with stories of it much, but I have so many formative memories of working out here, learning how to operate different equipment and learning how to do different things,” he said.

“Not to sound too sentimental about it, but it was really formative on me. I was going to undergraduate school in Chicago at the time. Being from Du Quoin, I would come home in the late spring when school would get out. I’d start working at the fairgrounds.

“I’d work all summer with these folks here and then literally hop on the Amtrak the day after the fair because our fall semester started after the fair. It’s no joke that I would finish up a third shift during the fair here at 7 or 8 in the morning and then hop on the Amtrak that afternoon to get ready to go start class in the next two or three days in Chicago.

“It was a wonderful time, and many of the things that we do year in and year out here as far as the events we facilitate, like, for example, in our covered arena with the different equine events or setting up the expo for the fair, yes, I’ve done all those things. I have very vivid memories of getting those things set up.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements in them, but I think that experience and that kind of inside knowledge of what it takes day in and day out has helped me empathize with challenging work orders or difficult timelines or time frames to complete tasks. I think that perspective has really been beneficial.”