The Heart of Illinois Fair is an annual fair

Fair

A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...

 featuring livestock competitions, rides, concessions, motor contests, and concerts. It has been held every year since 1949 in Peoria, Illinois

Peoria, Illinois

Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

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Focus

Over the years, the fair has grown from being centered solely on rides, games, and foods to being centered on bigger events, such as rock concerts, livestock competitions, and tractor pulls.

Venue

The Heart of Illinois Fair takes place every year at Exposition Gardens in northwest Peoria. Exposition Gardens is a non-profit organization whose goals involve providing opportunities for educational and recreational events. A full hook up camping area is also featured on the grounds.

Concerts

Over the past years, rock concert

Rock concert

The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...

s have become a popular part of the fair. The acts that were featured in the 2008 Heart of Illinois Fair included Mojo Risin (a Doors Tribute Band), Puddle of Mudd

Puddle of Mudd

Puddle Of Mudd is an American rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, USA. To date the band has sold over 7 million albums, and have had a string of #1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut Come Clean has sold over 5 million copies...

, Saving Abel

Saving Abel

Saving Abel is a American rock music group from Corinth, Mississippi, who were started in 2004 by Jared Weeks and Jason Null. The band title is from the ancient biblical story of Cain and Abel, that is about a brother who killed his own brother...

, Drowning Pool

Drowning Pool

Drowning Pool is a four-piece alternative metal band from Dallas, Texas.-Early days :Drowning Pool rose to fame while playing along with Ozzy Osbourne during an Ozzfest tour. Their 2001 debut album, Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks...

, Christian Comedian Joe Recca

Joe Recca

Joe Recca is an American comedian. He started doing comedy in 1987 at the Comedy Café in Washington, DC.-External links:* *...

, Next Generation Wrestling, Night Storm Teen Dance Party, and Confederate Railroad

Confederate Railroad

Confederate Railroad is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia by Danny Shirley , Michael Lamb , Mark Dufresne , Chris McDaniel , Warren "Gates" Nichols and Wayne Secrest...

Motorsports

All motorsport

Motorsport

Motorsport or motorsports is the group of sports which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles, whether for racing or non-racing competition...

 events take place in the arena located at Exposition Gardens. Motorsports events and competitions include truck and tractor pulls

Tractor pulling

Truck and Tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a motorsport competition, popular in America, Europe , Australia and Brazil, which requires modified tractors to pull a heavy sledge along a 35ft. wide and length of 100 metre or 300ft+ track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls...

, super semi pulls, demolition derbies

Demolition derby

Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...

, and bog and mud drags.

Livestock show

The fair features livestock show

Livestock show

A livestock show is an event where livestock are exhibited and judged on certain phenotypical breed traits as specified by their respective breed standard. Species of livestock that may be shown include pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas and alpacas. Poultry such as chickens, geese, ducks,...

s for beef cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

, dairy cattle

Dairy cattle

Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....

, sheep, goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

s, horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s, and pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

s, as well as pig racing

Pig racing

Pig-racing is a sport in which juvenile pigs race around a small enclosed dirt, fake grass or gravel track. This racing is usually purely for entertainment, and betting is not part of it. It is often one of the attractions at county fairs, but is also practiced in many backyard setups.Pig-racing...

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Home Arts

The fair's Home Arts department features include gardening

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...

, floriculture

Floriculture

Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...

, textiles, photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 exhibits, food competition

Food competition

-Food competitions – Drink competitions:Food or drink competitions reward products primarily for their gustative worth in the form of an award or a medal. These competitions can be classified into different categories. Most awards are product-specific such as for wines, beers, and cheeses. Others...

s, hobby shows, and science exhibits.