Illinois Product Demonstrations to be Held at the 2007 Illinois State Fair

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Marketing and Promotion will highlight Illinois companies and products in the Heartland area at the 2007 Illinois State Fair.

The area will feature daily cooking demonstrations and free samples of prepared recipes by companies such as Nestle, Spice of Life, Stewart's Coffee and Rockome Gardens.  In addition, companies such as Little Barks (homemade dog biscuits), K & J Candles (soy candles), Eagle Bridges Soy Candles and Debbie's Naturally Made Lotions & Stuff (bath and body products) will exhibit some of the best homemade products that the State of Illinois has to offer.

The I.D.O.A. tent will be located south of the Hobbies, Arts and Crafts Building and east of the Emmerson Building.  As many as five Illinois food companies and one non-food company will promote their products each day of the fair.  Some of the companies also will sell their products.

A list of the participating companies follows:

Food Companies
Avatar Teas, Bloomington (tea bags)
Bloodshot, Springfield (Bloody Mary mix)
Homeplace Sodas, Charleston (homemade sodas) 
Interstate Brands/Hostess (Twinkies)
Lonzerottis Italian Products, Jacksonville (regular & fat-free Italian dressing)
M & G Foods, Hamilton (numerous flavors of salsa)
Nestlé -USA, Inc., Jacksonville (Coffee-Mate coffee creamers) 
Oakland Noodle Company, Inc., Oakland (homemade egg noodles) 
Riley's Seasonings, Inc., Pittsfield (regular, salt-free and cajun all purpose seasonings)
Rockome Gardens, Arcola (homemade jams, jellies & breads)
Simply Sno, Crestwood (cotton candy in a container)
Spice of Life, Decatur (spices & seasonings)
Stewart's Coffee, Chicago (coffee)
Timmy J's, Winchester (numerous flavors of popcorn) 
Toohill Seed & Beef Service, Heyworth (beef products)

Non-food companies
Debbie's Naturally Made Lotions & Stuff, Nilwood (body & bath products)
Eagle Bridges Soy Candles, Jacksonville (soy candles)
K & J Candles (soy candles)
Little Barks, Decatur (homemade dog biscuits) 

To find out when a specific company is participating, contact the Bureau of Marketing and Promotion at (217) 524-3012.  

Other Illinois Department of Agriculture bureaus, including Ag Products Inspection, County Fairs and Horse Racing, Land and Water Resources, Warehouses and Weights and Measures will have displays and activities in the tent as well. 

The Illinois State Fair will be held Aug. 10-19, 2007.  Demonstrations are scheduled on the hour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with five to seven different demonstrations per day.  For more information about the I.D.O.A. Tent, or other fair events, visit www.illinoisstatefair.info on the internet.