The great, glorious, genuine Iowa State Fair
The great, glorious, genuine Iowa State Fair
Iowa's celebration of itself is both ever-updating and timeless.
It was the longest 731 days of my life. (At least, so far.)
From August 16, 2019, to August 16, 2021, I did not set foot1 on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Never before, and God willing never again until my knees give out, had the elapsed time been that long.
Fair day (or days) is the time that I throw order to the wind and meander from place to place.2 I am but one particle engaged in Brownian motion in a sea of halters, tattoos and nose rings — and not just in the animal barns.
Yeah, this is that column. Because we — and this year, I — need the fair, now more than ever.
The Iowa State Fair is an integral part of my life.
Like thousands of other Iowans, my name was in The Des Moines Register on September 27, 1982 in a compiled list of fairgoers.
On the third-oldest videotape in the family archive, I’m showing off my ribbon from the Pedal Power Pull. Blue ribbons on 4-H projects were routine for me in the 1990s, except in 1996 when there was a three-color uni-ribbon and all heck broke loose. My one adult competition ribbon came in photography in 2005 (honorable mention).
The fair changes.
The 4-H building was renovated and enlarged in late 2019. Because I have spent so much time there, this change was the most jarring. Presenters no longer go to the annex in the back to get a guide to the microphone system and then work up a sweat out of both nerves and being in an un-air-conditioned building in August. There are modern restrooms. Exhibit locations and the orientation of the stage moved around.
The farrowing display moved from within smelling distance of the Big Boar in the Swine Barn to the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center. Combined with the Iowa Pork Tent down the hill — which has been completely replaced for 2023 — you can walk a few hundred steps and see the entire timeline of a pig, from birth to pork chop on a stick.
The food exhibits moved from the Family Theaters to what was the Iowa Tourism Building. The tourism booths moved to the Varied Industries Building.
Then there’s all the air conditioning, which is a real relief in the Cultural Center after the walk up.
Just don’t look at the prices of the food. You’re paying for the ambiance. “Yes, one Gizmo, hold the ambiance.”
The fair has not changed.
Locations of things may move, but most of them are still there, somewhere.3
The familiarity itself is the attraction. No matter what is going on outside the area bounded by East University Avenue, East 30th Street, Dean Avenue and Williams Street, the fair is here.
The Butter Cow, our queen who needs no crown, will be crafted anew every year.
Bill Riley Sr. is gone, but his name lives on in the Talent Search he founded.
Pioneer Hall, the oldest building on the grounds, will be full of antique objects, antique contests and antique seating.
The Varied Industries Building will be divided between free swag and stuff I’ll never be able to afford unless I win Powerball off a ticket from the Iowa Lottery booth.
FFA members in the animal barns will get off their phones and return to the traditional pastime of dropping rubber spiders down onto unsuspecting fairgoers.
Political candidates will harangue the multitudes and then attempt to look dignified while eating food not designed for that purpose. (No corn dogs. Don’t even try.)
The campground shuttle stop moved from the Triangle to Heritage Village, but the shuttle is still run by the Clearfield Lions Club. The evening is not complete without a circuit around the campgrounds.
Then the midway lights up, the food stands glow, and all is right with the world.
The 2023 Iowa State Fair is Aug. 10-20.
The phrase is not “step foot.” SET FOOT. NOT STEP FOOT.
Please please please bring back the tram.
I miss the little train south of the big stone map and the State Fair Singers and Jazz Band.
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I have to say that Fairs, in general, are in my blood. But since I started going to the Iowa State Fair, I breathe the fair. Unfortunately, health considerations have kept me from the last few State Fairs but before that I found so many ways to participate in the Fair rather than just observing it, from entering cats, photography, vegetables and antiques to volunteering for the cat show, ISU booths and yes, even for the fair itself. The Iowa State Fair has so much to offer if one only looks.
As wild as this might sound, I've only been once and I don't remember ever going as a kid. This is likely the difference of growing up on a farm and in the city. As more family farms disappear, I wonder how much of a role this plays in the changes you've witnessed.