60 Fun Facts About Iowa State Fair

In which month is the Iowa State Fair held each year?

It runs for 11 days in Des Moines near the state capital and, with over a million visitors, is the largest event in Iowa.

The fair's famous Butter Cow is displayed in a refrigerated case inside which fairgrounds structure?

Hundreds of pounds of butter are layered onto a wood-and-wire frame in a case kept between 35 and 40 °F.

How many days does the Iowa State Fair run?

The fair has been held on the same Des Moines grounds since the 1880s, and a parade the evening before opening day kicks it off.

In which year did the fair draw a then-record 1,182,682 visitors?

The 10th of that month also set a single-day record at 128,732 people; 2019 and 2025 were the next-biggest years at the time.

The first Iowa State Fair, in October 1854, was staged in which town?

It ran on a $323 budget across just six acres, and for the next quarter-century the fair moved from town to town across eastern Iowa.

In which year did the fair move to its permanent home at East 30th and East Grand in Des Moines?

The land had been Calvin Thornton's farmstead, and his original house and barn still stand on the fairgrounds.

Why was there no Iowa State Fair in 1898?

The Trans-Mississippi Exposition and the Spanish–American War were the reasons; the fair was also skipped from 1942 to 1945 when the grounds became a military supply depot.

During World War II the fairgrounds were used by the military as what?

The Army leased the grounds in 1942 as a storage depot for the Air Corps, and no fair was held until 1946.

What did the fair do in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement?

It ran online on the original dates, the first time the event had been missed since the war years.

Which Iowa daily set up a wireless station at the 1917 state fair, the first in the state to receive a wireless message?

Six years earlier a five-acre exhibition hall had opened at a cost of $75,000 to show farm families the wares of Iowa companies.

Broadcaster Bill Riley created the fair's Talent Search in which year?

Riley retired after 50 fairs in 1996, when the Plaza Stage was renamed for him and his wife Anne; his son has hosted since 1997.

The Bill Riley Talent Search is open to Iowans in what age range?

Younger 'Sprouts' aged 2–12 and 'Seniors' aged 13–21 compete after nearly 100 local qualifying shows across the state.

In 1973 the fair board voted 4-3 to let performers from which Native nation perform after they protested for the right?

The Meskwaki Settlement near Tama is the only Native American settlement in Iowa, bought with tribal funds in the 1850s.

When the Grandstand was built in 1909, what was it made of?

It seated 10,000; the 1927 rebuild in steel and brick added 5,000 seats and made it, at the time, the largest building in Iowa.

Which act drew the largest Grandstand crowd for a single performance, 25,402 people in 1975?

Sonny and Cher's 1972 crowd of 26,200 is the biggest overall, and Johnny Cash sold 23,500 tickets across two shows in 1970.

In 2025 the Grandstand drew a then-record total of concertgoers of roughly how many?

The 131,755 total beat the 128,504 set in 2019; the Grandstand had been renovated again in 1997 and 2018.

Joseph Connolly crashed two locomotives head-on at the 1932 Iowa State Fair. What had he named them?

The names honoured that year's presidential candidates, and the engines hit at about 50 miles per hour in a fiery spectacle.

In 1954 which two men became the first US presidents to visit the fair?

Hoover was Iowa-born; Ford, Carter, George W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden have visited since.

The fair's soapbox draws presidential hopefuls because it precedes which first-in-the-nation contest?

Candidates get 20 minutes on the Des Moines Register's soapbox and can take questions from the crowd.

The Iowa State Fair Police, formed in 2018, wear blue uniforms with what headgear?

The state-certified force replaced a patchwork of private guards and local agencies; six full-time officers work the grounds year-round.

In 1987 the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under what name?

The grounds cover around 450 acres including 160 acres of campsites, and are a 10-minute drive east of downtown.

What is the Elwell Family Food Center's annual baking contest for entries shaped like spilled trash cans called?

Past entries have included human hearts and couches topped with fingernail clippings.

In 2015 the fair offered more than 70 different foods served in what signature way?

Options have included pork chops, footlong corn dogs and deep-fried butter, and boba drinks made their debut in 2025.

The 2023 People's Choice Best New Food, a fried bacon brisket mac-n-cheese grilled cheese, came from which stand?

It was one of more than 200 food stands on the grounds, where boba drinks made their debut in 2025.

Which of these is a real Iowa State Fair contest?

It shares the bill with rooster crowing, hog calling, wood chopping, cow chip throwing and 'monster arm wrestling'.

Who sculpted the very first Iowa State Fair Butter Cow in 1911?

The Beatrice Creamery Company sponsored the exhibit to promote dairy, and it was such a hit that it has returned every year since.

How many sculptors have made the Iowa State Fair Butter Cow in its more than 110-year history?

Daniels, Wallace, Dutt, Lyon and Pratt — and Norma Lyon's 45-year run is by far the longest.

J.E. Wallace, who sculpted the Butter Cow for 36 years until his death in 1956, also worked in what other trade?

He also made butter sculptures for the Florida, New York and Texas fairs, and started the tradition of a second companion sculpture each year.

Norma 'Duffy' Lyon took over the Butter Cow in which year, becoming the first woman to sculpt it?

She had told the fair director she could do better than the previous sculptor's work, and kept the job until she retired in 2006.

Where did Norma Lyon get the nickname 'Duffy'?

She was born Norma Duffield Stong, and the author of the novel State Fair was her uncle.

The Butter Cow Lady, Norma Lyon, was the niece of which author?

Her uncle's 1932 book State Fair became three films and a stage musical, all set at the fair where she carved butter for 45 years.

Norma Lyon studied animal science at Iowa State University for what reason?

She trained in sculpture there under Christian Petersen, then ran a Jersey dairy farm in Toledo, Iowa with her husband and raised nine children.

In 1994 Norma Lyon won approval to sculpt her first living person in butter — who?

Later companion pieces included John Wayne, Tiger Woods, gymnast Shawn Johnson and a Harley-Davidson for the company's 100th anniversary.

Which famous painting by an Iowa artist did Norma Lyon reproduce in butter?

Grant Wood's farm couple joined her butter versions of Peanuts, Elvis and Leonardo's Last Supper.

In 1963 Norma Lyon was the mystery guest on which TV game show, where Kitty Carlisle picked her out?

She later brought a cow carved from cheese onto Late Night with David Letterman.

Sarah Pratt, who succeeded Norma Lyon in 2006, had been her apprentice for how long?

Pratt's 2023 companion sculpture honoured three Iowa sports icons.

Sarah Pratt's 2023 butter sculpture celebrated three Iowa athletes: Jack Trice, Kurt Warner and who?

The Iowa Hawkeyes guard was mid-way through rewriting the college scoring record book at the time.

Approximately how much butter goes into the Iowa State Fair Butter Cow each year?

Many visitors assume the cow is solid butter, but it has always been built on a wooden-and-wire armature.

The first butter cow at any American state fair appeared in 1903 — at which fair?

Iowa's arrived eight years later; Minnesota has never had a butter cow, carving its Princess Kay dairy finalists instead.

In 2025 a Sarah Pratt butter cow was shown at which Smithsonian museum's 'State Fairs' exhibition?

The Renwick is the Smithsonian American Art Museum's craft and decorative arts branch, across from the White House.

The 1932 novel State Fair follows the Frake family from which fictional Iowa town?

The book is set around 1928 — two fairgoers argue about Hoover and Al Smith — and the storekeeper predicts a big depression within a year.

In State Fair, Abel Frake's prize boar Blue Boy is what breed?

Abel bets the local storekeeper five dollars that Blue Boy will win the grand championship and every Frake will have a good time.

In State Fair, daughter Margy falls for Pat Gilbert, who works as what?

In the novel he covers the fair for a Des Moines newspaper and dreams of a New York job, which is why Margy ultimately turns him down.

In State Fair, mother Melissa's mincemeat wins a prize after what is secretly added to it?

In the 1933 film Abel spikes it against her wishes, then she adds the rest of the bottle herself, unaware — and both her pickles and mincemeat take first place.

Which star of the 1933 film State Fair played farmer Abel Frake?

Henry King's pre-Code film, with Janet Gaynor as Margy, was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Cavalcade.

The 1945 State Fair holds what distinction among Rodgers and Hammerstein's works?

One of its songs won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and it was remade in 1962 and adapted for TV in 1976.

Which song from the 1945 State Fair won the Oscar for Best Original Song?

Jeanne Crain's vocals on it were dubbed by Louanne Hogan.

Which actor-director made the 1962 Texas-set remake of State Fair his last film behind the camera?

Pat Boone, Bobby Darin and Ann-Margret starred; Hammerstein died during pre-production, so Rodgers wrote the new lyrics himself.

The 1969 world stage premiere of State Fair at The Muny in St. Louis starred which famous married couple?

Tommy Tune choreographed that production, and the Broadway version did not arrive until 1996.

The 1996 Broadway production of State Fair was the final producing credit of which legendary showman?

Its tour had opened at the real fair in summer 1995; the Music Box run closed after 118 performances.

Which legendary rock band played the Iowa State Fairgrounds in May 1973 and again in June 1974?

Outside fair time the grounds also host auto shows, livestock expos, flea markets and trade shows.

The Varied Industries Building, renovated in 2001, opened in 1911 under what name?

Since the renovation its second floor has housed the Fabric and Threads Department, showing Iowa's quilts, rugs and dolls.

The author of State Fair, born near Keosauqua, attended which college in Des Moines?

Born near Keosauqua, he joked that he fell out of a bathtub at age two, 'became a writer. No other possible career.'

What was the total budget of the first Iowa State Fair in 1854?

A crowd of 7,000 to 10,000 turned up on just six acres of fairground in Fairfield.

At which 60-acre Des Moines site was the fair held when it first moved permanently to the city in 1879?

More than 100,000 people came to the 60-acre site before the move to East 30th and East Grand in 1886.

From which landowner was the farmland for the permanent fairgrounds bought in 1884?

The state had saved $50,000 for a permanent site, and more than 50 buildings were finished by summer 1885.

How many people packed the fair on August 10, 2024, a then-record single day?

The 2024 fair also set a then-record overall attendance of 1,182,682 visitors across its 11 days.

Roughly how many acres do the fairgrounds cover, including 160 acres of campsites?

They sit at East 30th Street and East University Avenue, about ten minutes east of downtown Des Moines.

How many people did the original wooden Grandstand of 1909 seat?

A 1927 rebuild in steel and brick added 5,000 seats and made it the largest building in Iowa at the time.

Where does the fair's parade, Iowa's largest, begin its route the evening before opening day?

About 200 floats, vehicles and performers travel west on Grand to 15th Street.