Iowa State Fair

The Big Swings at The Fair

It’s huge. It’s hot. It’s crowded. It’s fun. It’s the Iowa State Fair. Over 1,000,000 people attended the fair last year during it’s 11-day span and it was recently named by author Patricia Schultz as one of the “1000 Places to See Before You Die”. Clearly, if you’re in town, you don’t want to miss the excitement.

This year, our family went to the fair on opening day, and it actually was quite enjoyable. It wasn’t nearly as busy as when we went last year…we could actually walk on the sidewalk without touching someone at all times. We strolled around and saw the sights…and we ate more food than any normal person should eat. If I was there by myself, I think I would have enjoyed checking out more things…but with a 3 year old who hasn’t taken a nap, our time was limited :)

I always torture myself thinking about all of the trash produced by the fair and how much advertising and consumption happens there. This year, I tried to focus all of my energy on the ONE THING at the fair that I get super excited about. I wait all year for it…

The VEGGIE CORN DOG.

Oh yes. I love them. A veggie hot dog fried in deliciously unhealthy batter and grease. What could be better? Maybe TWO veggie corndogs :) I had to laugh when the Des Moines Register called the Veggie Corn Dog a “healthier” option at the fair. Healthier than the 1,100 calorie turkey leg, yes. But c’mon :)

You can find anything on a stick at the Fair. Pickles on a Stick, Eggs on a stick, Cheese on a Stick, Meat on a stick, Caramel Apples on a stick. And the winner for weirdest food at the fair: Deep Fried Twinkies, Deep Fried Candy Bars, and Deep Fried Oreos. With all that deep frying going on (there are over 200 food stands!) , we could get fuel for the entire year! :) Matt actually did talk to the veggie corn dog stand about getting their grease. They said we could have it if we wanted…although it would be a little hard to get our RV in there to get it! :)

Other fun things at the fair:

  • The Sky Ride
  • The music
  • The fountains
  • Did I mention the veggie corn dog?
  • The people haulers/tractor running on biodiesel.
  • The new wind turbine (provides enough energy for nearly the entire 11-day fair)
  • The butter cow, as usual. Yes, an life-size cow made out of butter.
  • People watching…there are some interesting folks in Iowa.

For more photos of these crazy things and more, click here.

5 Comments »

  1. I sure wish they had the veggie corn dog at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Every year the pronto pup stands make me want one so bad! And every year I have to go home and settle for my little green box from Morningstar Farms.

    Comment by Leah — August 16, 2007 @ 10:11 am

  2. [...] LiveLightly family also blogged about a visit to the Fair, not to mention those who’ve left comments on the original post. Thanks to all for humoring [...]

    Pingback by Iowa State Fair Parade photos and links from the Meme On A Stick! — August 16, 2007 @ 10:27 am

  3. Just talking about all that deep-fried food makes me feel queasy! And it makes me wonder what happens to it after you’ve been on a ride, stagger off it feeling dizzy and sick and ….. well, you get my drift!

    Have been following your blog for a while now and love what you’re doing (am envious too).

    Comment by Nicola — August 16, 2007 @ 10:35 am

  4. Thank you so much for this post! We are not able to make it to the Iowa State Fair this year due to me being hugely pregnant right now so your post and the pictures are tiding me over!!!

    Comment by Tara — August 16, 2007 @ 12:00 pm

  5. Mmmm, deep fried Twinkies.

    Comment by Heth — August 20, 2007 @ 9:23 am

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