Vermilion County and Expo fair organizers are working to spice up a few of the attractions for 2009. The fair begins Tuesday and runs through July 11. Evelyn Trimmell, secretary of the fair board, said one of the big changes is a new carnival. “We have a new carnival this year, which is big news for us. We were severely disappointed last year,” she said.

Organizers began searching soon after the 2008 fair.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the queen pageant.

“A lot of former queens will be coming back to visit,” she said.

Other new additions will be a petting zoo and pony rides.

Al Peeler, a fair board member, is heading up a new effort this year that he hopes will attract younger fair goers.

The Great American Beer Arena will feature a variety of attractions, which depart from the usual idea of a beer tent where people simply go to drink, he said.

Each day of the fair will feature a new arena attraction, including Karaoke Idol at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The arena will hold the Projekt Legalize Freedom Concert beginning at 2 p.m. Friday that will feature five area bands. Wednesday the arena will feature an art show that will include a silent auction, raffle and wine. Thursday at 6 p.m., the arena will host a cornhole tournament in which three cornhole boxes will be raffled off.

“Every day we have something for somebody,” Peeler said.

He hopes the combination of music, games and atmosphere will appeal to a broader audience.

“I look at it this way,” he said. “Our forefathers gave us a great fair. They’re tired. Now our generation has to accept responsibility for the community.”

The time has come for the fair to offer some new attractions, he said.

“We have to have new things,” he said. “You can’t just sit idle and do the same things year after year.

He said his hope is to better the fair and bring it back to what he remembers.

“It was great when I was a kid,” he said.