A fun mix of new and old at Madison County Fair

For 175 years, the Madison County Fair in Brookfield has thrilled fairgoers with an old-fashioned event celebrating the rich rural history of the area.

This year for the first time, the traditional festivities also featured an all-new attraction that was sure to offer relief from the summer heat for all participants - the first-ever frozen T-shirt contest, held once daily for each of the four days of the fair. Those T-shirts were frozen solid into brick-like blocks and contestants had to race to thaw them out and don them over their own apparel to win the competition.

“Everybody who plays gets a free T-shirt, and the winner gets a free hot meal to warm up afterwards,” said event organizer and fair secretary Terry King. “People have been really enjoying this.”

Friday’s event saw some 20 competitors slamming their shirt blocks against the concrete in front of the stage area and pulling apart the frigid material as best they could. It was Brookfield’s own local favorite John Barber, 12, who was the first to wear the chilly orange T-shirt that evening.

“My fingers are frozen,” he admitted after his victory.

Barber said his winning technique was to blow hot air on the icy package and to keep smacking the block on the floor. He quickly took his winning prize certificate to the nearby concession stand for a warm-up treat.

One woman passing by refused to be a part of the contest when asked by King, suggesting she had a secret ability that would make for an unfair advantage against her opponents. When pressed for an explanation, she confessed that power.

“Hot flashes,” she whispered.

To watch the video of Barber’s frozen T-shirt contest win, visit http://youtu.be/qyfGrDKovJI