Fairgoers enjoyed the sights, sounds and food topped with a stretch of fall-style weather at the 137th edition of the Sandwich Fair, which was held Wednesday through Sunday in Sandwich.
The fair – first held in 1888 – is situated on some 200 acres at the Sandwich Fairgrounds along the southern border of DeKalb County in Sandwich.
The fair is a tradition for many families in the area.
Nate and Roxy Roach, from Millington, came to the fair this year with their two daughters, Holly, 4, and Taylor, 5.
“We come every year. We like the corn dogs, elephant ears and cinnamon rolls. We like to see the old steam engine tractors too,” Roxy Roach said.
Along with the food, entertainment, a carnival and more, the fair also featured plenty of exhibitors and competitions, from those showing livestock to others offering items they have grown in their garden or fields.
Cherie and Dale Sanderson, of Sycamore, admired rows of feed corn at the fair in the Horticulture Building that was rebuilt and expanded years ago on the original 1905 site.
“The judges are particular about the uniformity of the kernels,” Sanderson said.
Katrina Glover is an assistant superintendent in the Horticulture Building where there were hundreds of entries on display for various contests.
“It takes a little army to do this,” Glover said of the work involved in creating displays for so many exhibits, including a flower pyramid.
It takes months of work on the part of exhibitors to produce beautiful ribbon-winning specimens – from Indian corn to pumpkins, she said.
Glover’s family begins the growing season by planting squash and Indian corn seeds in the house as early as March. The garden involves daily upkeep once the seeds are planted in May.
“The bloody butcher variety is a beautiful red decorative corn,” she said.
The Indian corn kernels can be ground up for tortillas, otherwise the corn cobs can be used in floral arrangements – the kernels are ruby red.
A bounty of jalapenos from a grower in Paw Paw won both a blue ribbon Best in Class and purple ribbon Best in Show at the fair.
These jalepenos earned Best in Class and Best in Show at the Sandwich Fair, held Wednesday to Sunday, Sept. 3-7, 2025, in Sandwich. (Linda Girardi/For The Beacon-News)
“These jalapenos are beautiful. The judges are looking for healthy and uniform jalapenos with no imperfections,” Glover said.
She said “our exhibitors had to put in a lot of work to keep up the gardens due to the lack of rain.”
“You can see their sheer dedication by what is here on the flower pyramid. We have some sunflowers that are truly picture perfect,” Glover said.
The Gazebo Information Booth at the fair had this year’s fair souvenirs on display for collectors. This year’s collectible was a wooden cheese board, engraved to showcase some of the distinctive buildings on the fairgrounds, including the Home Arts Building, the Gazebo, Horticulture Building, Horse Barn and The Round Office.
The artwork for the souvenirs and publicity materials was done by Jackie Dannewitz. This year’s lapel pin featured the Arts & Crafts Demonstration Building, a rather unassuming structure. However, the artist is known for highlighting something unique about each building on the fairgrounds.
“I try to accentuate some character of the structures, whether it’s a pot of flowers or nearby trees to give it some personality,” Dannewitz said. “I feel honored that I get to do this.”
The Round Office, an eight-sided red building on the site of the fair was remodeled this year, officials said. The fairgrounds history book, “The Sandwich Fair Since 1888,” states the structure was originally put up in 1900, possibly as a timers stand at the racetrack and eventually moved to the present location and made into an enclosed building in 1906.
The Round Office is one of the historic buildings on the site of the Sandwich Fair, which was held from Wednesday to Sunday, Sept. 3-7, 2025, in Sandwich. (Linda Girardi/For The Beacon-News)
While the interior original wood remains, new siding and windows were installed plus the building is now illuminated at night.
The fair had some 415 concession locations that offered fair food and merchandise, Sandwich Fair board member Ron Henrich said. He’s been the superintendent of concessions for the past 11 years.
“I grew up with the fair. I remember my folks bringing me to the fair,” Henrich said.
Beth Swanson is an information officer at The Round Office. She’s been involved in the fair for the past 45 years. Some of the vendors represent a fourth generation, she said.
“People would camp near their concession stands when we didn’t have cellphones in the early days,” she said.
Family members would call The Round Office to relay messages to family members working at the concession stands, she said.
“We had a relative call to inform a vendor that his wife had gone to the hospital in labor. They called back on the office landline to tell us if it was a boy or girl – we’d run down to the father to inform him,” Swanson said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
