Sangamon Sun

Illinois State Fair competitors are being offered a little extra time to get their entries mailed for the upcoming event thanks to the fact that July begins on a weekend this year.

While the deadline is Saturday for the Open Show for beef, dairy, sheep and goats, as well as the Junior Show for beef, dairy, sheep, swine, goats, poultry and rabbits, any entry postmarked by Monday, July 3, will still be accepted, Kevin Gordon, the fair manager, said in a press release.

The other deadlines for the fair are July 7 for the Society Horse Show (although late entries are allowed through July 21, with fees doubled), July 10 for the Open Show for poultry and rabbits, July 11 for the Twilight Parade, July 15 for general entries, August 9 for dairy products and bee culture-professional, and August 10 for bee culture-open.

Any event with a Saturday deadline will allow entries postmarked by the following Monday.

This year's state fair will take place August 10-20 and features musical acts that include John Mellencamp, Brad Paisley, Pentatonix, Chase Rice, Foghat, Herman's Hermits, Jason Derulo, Alabama, Sublime, Five Finger Death Punch and the "Southern Uprising Tour" with the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band and the Outlaws.

For more information, go to www.illinoisstatefair.info or call 217-782-0786.