Iowa State Fair for newbies (Hawkeye: buy, live, agriculture)

[mrs_moby73]

Hey everyone! This will be the first year our family attends the Iowa State Fair. We already bought our tickets online and we are really excited about going. I was wondering if there are any "can't miss" exhibits or events. Are some days less crowded than others? Any other tips for a newbie hitting the fair for the first time?

[El Rhino]

I usually go on a week day, it's less crowded but there's still going to be a lot of people whenever.


See it all. You can in a day. The butter cow and the prize winning animals are usually considered the top attractions. I like the cultural building where they display people's photography and artwork.

The midway is pretty lame and expensive, but it would probably be hard to keep kids from there. The varied industries building is kind of lame too but I always end up at least walking through.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it, I love the fair.

[SharpHawkeye]

Oh, the Fair!

I agree with most of what El Rhino said, except that I've never been really drawn to the butter cow. Folks will stand in line for a half-hour to file past it, when really, you can get the general picture from a distance.

Some of my favorites:

1. Absolutely get some honey lemonade from the honey producer's booth on the second level of the Agriculture building. It's delicious, and the cheapest drink you can buy at the fair. The Agriculture Building as a whole is very underrated.

2. The Governor usually makes an appearance at the State of Iowa or the Democrats' booth. Even if I don't much care for the guy myself, it's always neat to get to shake hands and speak to the Gov.

3. Make absolutely sure to visit the Animal Learning Center. It's east of the Midway, and easy to miss. Your kids will LOVE it! It's full of kid-level displays of adorable newly-born chicks, calves and piglets--very hands on, lots of petting, holding, etc.

4. Eat something on a stick.

5. Take advantage of the DART shuttle. You can park for free/nearly free at the Capitol grounds, then take a .75 shuttle out to the fairgrounds. No more parking hassles.

[Shawn71]

Try to take in some of everything. I live a few blocks from the fair myself, so I take my daughter there often to get some exercise, walk and let her ride her bike and play. I go there to walk all through the spring thru fall..

[mrs_moby73]

Thanks everyone for the tips--especially the honey lemonade, that sounds delicious! I will definitely put them to use when we head to the fair next week. We can't wait!!!

[capitalcityguy]

Our annual must sees/do's:

* see the big boar and the big bull and check out some of the animals in the nearby barns.
* watch Bo Bo the Clown get dunked at the dunk tank (north of the midway) and yell out insults at those trying to dunk him.
* mini donuts, turkey leg -- both must have's for me.
* see a free concert or two on one of the stages. Be sure to check out the schedule ahead of time so you can find an act that meets with your personal music taste.
* walk through the Varied Industries building to look at all the products being halked.

[SD83]

My personal recommendation: There are many corn dog stands, but look for one near the Information Center. They use a paint brush to put mustard on the corn dog. There are two stands that I know of that do this, but I can't remember where the second one is.

Besides the novelty of having your condiments painted on, it is the best bet for quality corn dogs, for my money!

[MrsStewie]

Vocal trash will be there Monday and they are amazing. I love the fair, can't wait to go this year. I just love walking all the buildings with the different booths to see all of the handmade things people are selling. I think my all time favorite thing is walking through the building with all the baby animals, it's over by one of the free stages.

[mrs_moby73]

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you all know we had a wonderful time at the fair today!!

SD 83, we didn't find the specific corndog booth you mentioned, but we definitely had corndogs.

SharpHawkeye, the honey lemonade was wonderful...not too sweet, just right! $2/glass, but still a good deal.

capitalcityguy, you win for the mini donut suggestion!! Holy cow those things were great!

We visited the Animal Learning Center and my kiddos loved it. I didn't really love the part where the big screen TVs on the wall started showing a calf emerging from the womb though!! LOL!! My kids definitely had some questions about that one, but I think it wasn't too traumatic for them. :-D

All in all, we had a wonderful day! My personal recommendations after spending the day there? Definitely hit the Giant Slide...so fun! The Little Hands Farm was great, especially for the free snack at the end. Thanks again all!!!