Corn dogs, pork chop on a stick and the Butter Cow are just a few things that come to mind when I think about the Iowa State Fair. My attendance at the fair has changed over the years. In fact, I never went to one of the state’s biggest events until I was in college.
In my youth, that first week of August was prime vacation time for my family. With softball ending just before August and football not starting for a couple of weeks, we only had a certain window to plan our yearly family trip.
Once the constraints of organized school sports were lifted, I was finally able to get to the state fairgrounds and see the Butter Cow for the first time.
Since that first trip, my first stop at the fair is always to the Agriculture building to see the famed creamy statue and whatever else the butter artists have whipped up for the summer. My favorite butter sculpture was the Star Trek Enterprise a few years ago. It was truly impressive to see all the detail that was put into it.
This year, the fair commemorated the 100th year John Deere has been a part of the Iowa State Fair. Because of that, a Waterloo Boy tractor was crafted out of butter. It was awesome to see the steel-wheeled kerosene-burning tractor in that way. The artists always do a phenomenal job with the craftsmanship.
This was my third summer attending the fair with my husband, Tim. One of his favorite things to see at the fair are the chainsaw wood carvers. I had never been to one of those demonstrations before and now it has become another can’t miss fair event. We saw a large log from a pine tree be transformed into a smiling bear. Tim guessed what it was after only five minutes of work. I still don’t see how he picked up on it so quickly.
The carver told us it was going to have a matching bear to make into a bench. I can just imagine how awesome the bench will look once it is complete.
There were other carvings on display at the First Church location. One that caught my eye was the Iron Throne from the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” It was a work in progress, but it was still plain to me what it was. I consider “Game of Thrones” my favorite television series. I can imagine another fan paying the price to walk away with that beautiful wooden version of it.
Another highlight was seeing my friend, Eric’s, horse in the Avenue of Breeds. Dudley is a Gypsy Vanner, native to Ireland. They are a draft horse, good for riding and pulling, but are smaller than the other draft breeds like Clydesdales and Percherons. They have very distinct feathering on all four legs complete with a long mane and tail. However Dudley has one very special characteristic — a mustache. It puts a smile on your face just seeing him.
Tim and I met Eric at the fair. He’s a member of Livestock Control in the horse barn. He took a little break to take us over to his horse. Dudley loves lemons, so we all got a fresh squeezed lemonade on the way. Tim and I both got to feed Dudley our lemon wedge. He went crazy for them. It was a fun experience.
Our day at the Iowa State Fair was fun as usual. I ate way too much and my feet were hurting by the end of it, but I would go back again and again. I was happy to make more “Iowa State Fair Moments” this year.
Contact Pam Pratt at
pampratt@newtondailynews.com