Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Despite a chill in the air, you couldn’t help but feel as if it were August during Tuesday’s “100 Days Out” event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

People who showed up were able to get a taste of the fair from such vendors as Vose’s KornDogs and Scoop du Jour. The Chatham ice cream / donut shop is the winner two years running of the Golden Abe award for best dessert. Co-owner Shannon McAuley said an ice cream sandwich was the winner in 2024. “A donut ice cream sandwich. We take a donut and slice it down the middle. Your choice of ice cream, your choice of donut – and it was a big hit. Last year we won for the ice cream horseshoe. We take a donut and a layer of ice cream, pound cake for French fries, and it’s a marshmallow sauce – a golden yellow marshmallow sauce, so it looks like a horseshoe.”

You can’t think of the fair without thinking of Vose’s. Kelsie Vose is the third generation of the family’s Korndog empire. She says longevity and tradition are the keys to success. “Yeah, we have a great Korndog, and people love it. A lot of our newer customers are from someone else, or someone else brought them there, or they have a memory of when they were small with their grandparents or whoever.”

Vose’s Korndogs are available at Springfield Pridefest and the Mother Road Festival.

The Illinois State Fair this year runs from Aug. 13 to Aug. 23.