Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go to the state fair with the youth group I work with. I love the Iowa State Fair! I've gone almost every summer for my entire life. From what I've read, the Iowa and Texas State Fairs are the top 2 in the nation. I used to get Family Fun magazine when my daughter was younger, and the Iowa State Fair was listed as a top summer family destination in the midwest. I have to agree!! But, as the Iowa fair is the only one I've been to, I don't really have anything to compare it to :)
We arrived at the fair grounds at about 1pm and were there until 8pm. The group I was walking around with included some people who had never been to the fair, so I was excited to show them the sites, from the butter cow to the"World's Smallest Cow" to the Campion SuperBull (and all the non-cow related things as well)!
We started the day at the Varied Industries building where we got our free bags, pens, temporary tattoos, and whatever else the businesses/schools/organizations were giving away. Then, it was time for a late lunch. I went with my usual choice - the Iowa chop dinner from the Pork Producers of Iowa stand. YUM!! After eating, we took a quick trip through the Agriculture Building to see the 2010 Butter Cow and the Green Eggs and Ham butter sculptures. For those unfamiliar with the Iowa State Fair, there is a full sized butter sculpture of a cow every year (the breed changes each year) and then an additional sculpture that changes every year. After the Ag building, we headed up to Expo Hill where we watched the very entertaining high dive show - "Sinbad and the Search for the Golden Pineapple." We were seated in the splash zone (which, by the way, we didn't know until the first big dive!), so we got a bit wet during the show. We dried off as we walked across the grounds to the animal barns where we checked out the champion SuperBull, Buster, who weighed a MASSIVE 3022 lbs! Yikes! In the barn next door, we saw the "World's Smallest Cow" as well. In the horse barn, we saw a lot of draft horses waiting to be prepped for the show later that day and adorable miniature horses also getting ready for their show. We got supper yummy caramel apples from Applishus and sat for a while at one of the free stages, were we watched part of a christian rock concert before going through the Animal Learning Center. In the ALC, we got to see baby pigs, cows, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, turkeys, and ostriches. I love that building. The part that some people don't like is that they show videos of the births on large screens in the building. Actually, if you happen to time your visit right, you might see a new little animal enter the world, which grosses some people out, but I think it's cool :) After the ALC, we headed to the Midway, where my trip on the double ferris wheel about did me in... It took my stomach about 45 minutes to recover. I won't be doing that again. lol! We ended our day back in the Varied Industries Building one more time. We had a bit of supper and then I got somen Nitro Ice Cream on the way back to the bus...mmmmmm!
It was a fabulous day! If you have time, check out my photo album and see some pics of my adventures at the fair! If you live in Iowa or near us in the midwest, you should definitely consider adding the Iowa State Fair to your summer plans next year. I give it 5 out of 5 stars!
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