Our State Fair Is a Great State Fair! Iowa State Fair 8/07-8/17

Our state fair is the best state fair! That's right, I said it! I know it's true because my mom used to wake us up on "fair day" (which always fell on my birthday) singing the anthem from the movie "State Fair".  We would park at my grandma's house about five blocks away, and she would again start singing the song when we were within minutes of the long walk ending at the gates. I have yet to meet anyone who loves the fair the way my mother did.

One of the few things that has not changed much over the last 40 years is the Iowa State Fair. You can still get a corndog about every 15ft. In fact, there is even more deep fried food now than ever. You can get deep fried candy bars, deep fried pickles, and of course funnel cakes. Oh, the abundance of funnel cakes!

Food is probably 90% of what my mom loved about the fair. There is also the arts and crafts to check out. The highway patrol hall of fame. The DNR animals native to Iowa area is always interesting too.

Then there is the entertainment. Go ahead and spend all of your money on food and rides because there is enough free entertainment to keep you busy for days. There are so many free stages it would take you a day just to walk to them all. You can watch everything from country music to reggae. There's even a one-man-band that's really pretty good.

You can also watch or partake in just about any kind of contest there is on the planet. From the "mom calling contest" to the traditional hog calling contest. You can eat your way to success with various ice cream/pie eating contests. There are also real talent competitions.

There are also Grandstand shows. These are the biggies of the Iowa State Fair. Mostly country acts, but there are a few older bands that hold court there too. The 2014 line up includes: Newsboys, GooGoo Dolls and Daughtry, the stars of Duck Dynasty, Florida Georgia Line, Chevelle and Halestorm, Lady Antebellum, and Foreigner and Styx.

We are going to the Iowa State Fair on the 12th this year so we can see the band called "Hairball". It's probably what you expect, an 80s big hair anthem cover band. I can't wait! I hope to hear some Motley Crue, Ratt, and Poison. I miss them all! I used to be such a head banger, now it just makes my neck hurt.

So that's what we've got to look forward to this month in Iowa. What does your state offer in the month of August?


Photo credit: iowahwyman