The popular butter cow sculpture will be unveiled at the Dairy Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
The Illinois agriculture director and State Fair manager will attend the ceremony Thursday afternoon. The ceremony will be streamed online.
The 500-pound bovine is made of unsalted butter. Built from scratch each year, the cow has been an unofficial mascot of the fair since the 1920s.
Fair organizers have said they're not changing security procedures after vandals threw paint on a butter cow at the state fair in Iowa last year. A refrigerated case holding the Illinois sculpture is always locked.
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The cow is a project of the Midwest Dairy Association and is paid for by its local farmer members.
This year's fair is Aug. 7-17.
