The Iowa State Fair is an annual

state fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in ...

held in

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the

Iowa State Fairgrounds The Iowa State Fairgrounds is located on the east side of Des Moines, Iowa. It annually hosts the Iowa State Fair in late summer. The state fair was begun in Iowa in 1854 and the current fairgrounds were established in 1886. The fairgrounds w ...

since 1886. It is based in the state capital

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

over an 11 day period in August. With over a million visitors, it is one of the largest and best known state fairs in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

History

The first Iowa State Fair was staged in Fairfield on October 25–27, 1854, with a budget of $323. The Fair was held again in Fairfield in 1855, then for the next several years, moved from town to town, remaining mostly in eastern

. The Fair was held in Muscatine in 1856–1857, Oskaloosa in 1858–1859,

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

in 1860–1861,

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

in 1862–1863, Burlington in 1864–1866,

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in 1867–1868, Keokuk in 1869–1870 and 1874–1875, and Cedar Rapids in 1871–1873 and 1876–1878. The Fair moved permanently within the

city limits in 1878. After the Iowa State Legislature and the City of Des Moines appropriated funds for the Fair in 1886, it moved to its current location at East 30th and East Grand in Des Moines. The Fair was not held in 1898, due to the celebration of the World's Fair in nearby

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, as well as the

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, 1942–1945 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when the state allowed military personnel to use the grounds as a supply depot. In 2020 it was "postponed" due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, however on August 13–23, 2020 a virtual fair was held in its place. The Fair returned in 2021. The Fair was the setting for the 1933 film ''

State Fair A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in ...

'' and its 1945 musical adaptation.

Fairgrounds

The fairgrounds are spread over , including of campsites. Located at East 30th Street and East University Avenue, it is a 10 minute drive east from downtown Des Moines. The fairgrounds are filled with carnival rides and vendors during the Fair.

Contests and competitions

Agricultural contests

Agricultural contests are held for the largest boar, ram, bull, rabbit and pigeon. There are 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), and open-class shows for sheep, swine, beef and dairy cattle, horses, goats, llamas, rabbits, poultry and dogs. Contests include rooster crowing, hog calling, wood chopping, pie eating, monster arm wrestling, outhouse racing and cow chip throwing.

The Butter Cow

The Butter Cow, an Iowa State Fair staple since 1911 when J.K. Daniels sculpted the first one, is located in the Agricultural Building. After sculpting her first butter cow in 1960, Norma "Duffy" Lyon sculpted all six breeds of dairy cows over the next 45 years, as well as

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

, a butter version of Grant Wood's '' American Gothic'', the ''

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'' characters, Iowa native John Wayne,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, a

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, various animals and a butter rendition of Leonardo da Vinci's '' The Last Supper''. Lyon was succeeded in 2006 by her longtime apprentice, Sarah Pratt. Pratt's 2021 butter sculpture featured children enjoying the Giant Slide attraction.

Other contests

In the past, the Iowa State Fair hosted a "healthiest baby" contest for more than 40 years. While the stated goal of the contest was to dispense advice for healthy family living, some believe that it was also an outlet for the promotion of

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

. The contest ran from 1911 to at least the 1950s.

Food

The Iowa State Fair has a variety of food, including healthy and gluten-free offerings, from more than 200 food stands. The fair is known for its food on a stick, which numbered over 70 offerings in 2015. Some of the most distinctive are deep fried, including

Snickers Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion . In the United Ki ...

, Oreos, fried Cokes, cheesecake, pickle dawg (pastrami or ham with cream cheese and pickle), and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food), spread, melted a ...

, a popular addition when it was introduced in 2011. Other meat-on-a stick products include pork chop, the most endemic food at the fair, given the state's status as the country's top hog producer, and a bacon-wrapped hot dog dipped in a cornmeal batter. In 2019, the Buffalo Chicken Chimichanga was introduced. The footlong corndog is a classic Iowa State Fair food item.

Food Competitions

Food has also been part of the friendly competition at the Iowa State Fair. Gathered in the Elwell Family Food Center are the best cooks and bakers

has to offer. From pies to

cinnamon roll A cinnamon roll (also known as cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe (mainly in Nordic countries, but also in Austria and Germany) and North America. In Sweden ...

s, the fair sees many delicious creations every year.

Entertainment

Grandstand

The Iowa State Fair Grandstand was built in 1909 and was renovated to add more and improved seating in 1927, 1997 and then again in 2018. It is located on Grand Ave, just off of the main gate.

The Bill Riley Talent Search

Bill Riley's Iowa State Fair Talent Search debuted in 1959 and features Iowans ages 2 to 21. In 1996, Riley retired after 50 Fairs and 37 Fair Talent Shows and the Plaza Stage was renamed the Anne and Bill Riley Stage. He died in December 2006, succeeded by Bill Riley Jr., who has been host since 1997. Nearly 100 local qualifying shows are held across the state. There are seven days of preliminary competition for Sprouts (ages 2–12) and Seniors (ages 13–21), followed by the semi-finals and, ultimately, the selection of a Sprout and Senior champion. Bill Riley Jr. announced that 2021 would be his last year as host of the talent search show.

Former Entertainment

The Iowa State Fair has been home to many forms of entertainment over the years. Notably, in 1932 the Fair hired Joseph Connolly to crash two outdated locomotives together in front of the Grandstand. Connolly named one "Hoover" and one "Roosevelt" in honor of the presidential candidates of the day, presaging the State Fair's role in Presidential nominations. The trains accelerated to approximately 50 miles per hour and smashed in a fiery spectacle before 45,000 fairgoers. Other past entertainment includes a plane intentionally crashing into a model of a house, a circus elephant, and a human cannonball.

Iowa State Fair Parade

The Iowa State Fair Parade is considered Iowa's largest parade. It occurs the night before the opening of the State Fair. The parade begins at the Iowa State Capitol Complex and marches west on Grand to 15th Street.

Political Soapbox

Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to visit the Iowa State Fair in 1954. Since then, presidential candidates have visited the Fair, and the ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

'' currently sponsors the "Political Soapbox,” which provides space for candidates to speak to the public. Candidates have 20 minutes to speak and can take questions from the crowd as well. Historically the

Iowa caucuses The Iowa caucuses are biennial electoral events for members of the Democratic and Republican parties in the U.S. state of Iowa. Unlike primary elections in most other U.S. states, where registered voters go to polling places to cast ballots ...

have been the first contest in the presidential nomination process, and the fair preceding the caucuses is a high visibility event for candidates.

Police Department

The Iowa State Fair Police Department was established in 2018, replacing the combination of private security guards and local law enforcement agencies that previously provided security and policing services to the Fairgrounds. Officers wear a blue uniform with a distinctive white

cowboy hat The cowboy hat is a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat best known as the defining piece of attire for the North American cowboy. Today it is worn by many people, and is particularly associated with ranch workers in the western and southern United ...

. The police officers are state-certified officers, but funded by the Iowa State Fair Authority. Officers work year-round, providing services to the State Fair and other events held at the Fairgrounds. There are six full-time police officers and a number of part-time officers, made up of both retired and active-duty officers. People arrested at the Fair are booked on site, and transported to Polk County Jail by Des Moines Police Department and the

Iowa State Patrol The Iowa State Patrol (ISP) is the state patrol organization in the state of Iowa. Currently, there are just over 267 officers in the patrol, roughly 183 troopers short of their authorized strength of 455. The State is broken int16 Districts Th ...

Future dates

* 2023: August 10–20 * 2024: August 8–18 * 2025: August 7-17

References

External links

Official Site

Des Moines Register's Iowa State Fair page
{{Coord, 41.595556, N, 93.548611, W, region:US_type:landmark, display=title State fairs Festivals in Iowa August events Culture of Des Moines, Iowa Tourist attractions in Des Moines, Iowa Festivals established in 1854 1854 establishments in Iowa