The Iowa State Fair!

*Ok, totally random side note here: I am sitting in THE nicest McDonalds I have ever been in. I'm meeting a friend for a girl's getaway to Minneapolis-we'll be shopping for new school clothes for our kids-we're old!! :) *

All randomness aside I titled this post The Iowa Sate Fair because there is only ONE Iowa State Fair! Really, it's a big deal around here over a million people are in attendance each year. For a little over a week some people will put their normal daily lives on hold to eat, sleep, and breathe everything Iowa State Fair. It starts tomorrow and as I write this there are people setting up campers, tents, checking into the campground, 4-H building, etc. The fair-goers may or may not have animals to "show" or food stands or some commercial item they are selling.

This is all to my great surprise and ignorance; I'm a transplant city-girl from South Dakota and in the twenty-five years I lived in SD I never attended the fair. I have lived in Iowa for seven and have gone a couple times.

It really is fascinating to see, the midway, entertainment, people, animals and exhibits are amazing to look at. Not to mention the food! Any and all combinations or crazy creations you can think of. Any food item on a stick is very popular; there are pork chops on a stick, snicker bars battered and fried on a stick, twinkies battered and fried on a stick. So, if you see lots of people in overalls at The Iowa State Fair it's not because we're hicks. It's because they allow plenty of room to eat all the fat, high fructose corn syrup heart- attack- on- a -stick your gut can stand.
The Butter Cow is also a big deal at the fair, every year a woman sculpts a cow out of butter and it is on display. The cow is such a big deal that one of my husband's co-workers was the butter cow for Halloween one year! Here he/she is in all his/her glory.

I will be going many times this year because one of my mentors, Jo Myers Walker, invited me to be a part of her booth at the fair. I've worked with Wild Blueberry Ink to make some really cool necklaces, key chains, and magnets just for the fair. Stop by our booth in the Cultural Building and check us out, there are four artists and we'll all be taking turns at demonstartions!!

I'll be posting pictures of the booth and will have a post on Jo Friday.