Ready for Rick

The last time singer Rick Springfield performed in our area was when he did an October 2006 concert at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.

Now Springfield, who turns 59 next month, is back as the headliner at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Lake County Fair in Crown Point.

And to help nudge ticket sales, fair organizers have just announced a new $20 ticket option for a general admission seat in the fair's grandstand for Springfield, along with other musical acts such as Plain White Ts, Blake Shelton and Nicole Jamrose.

There's also higher-priced tickets, from $29 to $59, depending on the concert, for closer, reserved seats.

After an extended run at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas most recently, Springfield has reprised his role of Dr. Noah Drake on "General Hospital," where he first made his doctor rounds in that same role in 1981.

The Lake County Fair, which runs Friday to Aug. 10, is trying a return to the idea of big-name entertainment as an added draw.

It's been 18 years since the last time the Lake County Fair used the grandstand for headline entertainment concerts.

The fairground grandstand is at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and South Court Street in Crown Point. For a complete list of events and tickets, go to www.lake-county-fair.com.

In the past, B.B. King, Tom T. Hall, Bobby Vinton, Lassie, Freddy Fender, Frank Sinatra Jr., Roy Clark, Patty Loveless, Tommy James and The Shondells and Dolly Parton's singing younger sister Stella Parton performed at the Lake County Fair during the 1970s and 1980s. Offering headline entertainment acts at the Lake County Fair was discontinued by the fair board in 1990 in favor of a greater emphasis on free entertainment and opportunities to showcase more local talent.

"These entertainers have always done great concerts," said longtime Lake County Fair Board Secretary Arlene Marcinek, who I chatted with Wednesday.

"I can remember the year Roy Clark performed, we had terrible rains, but he did his show anyway, even going up in the stands with his guitar to meet and greet fans."

Despite Lake County's nearly two-decade dry spell from bringing in spotlight names, the Porter County Fair has continued its long-standing tradition of featuring headline entertainment, with a long roster of names in recent years, including Three Dog Night, Trace Adkins, REO Speed Wagon, Big & Rich, Kenny Rogers, Gretchen Wilson, Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels, The Beach Boys, Michelle Branch, The Village People, Chicago, Peter Noone, Eddie Rabbitt, The Hager Twins, Jerry Reed, Martina McBride, The Doobie Brothers and Jo Dee Messina.

Even the LaPorte County Fair has traditionally brought in big names over the years, including Reba McEntire, Louise Mandrell, Marie Osmond, Diamond Rio, Tracy Byrd, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ronnie Milsap, Daryle Singletary, Sawyer Brown and Tanya Tucker.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

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