The State Fair (Part 2)

Options for entertainment at the Iowa state fair range from performances by dance schools to calling contests to musical groups. The quality can be described as eager amateur to well-experienced professional. I came away from looking at the fair’s schedule with the impression that the variety of performers this year was not as great as in previous years. Thus, I was not surprised when my trip to the fair on the second Thursday did not include any acts that appealed to me.
The Elwell Family Food Center, where prize-winning desserts are displayed, was moved to the old tourism building this year. At the old location Blue Bunny had given away samples of its frozen treats.  A person exiting the new location as I entered muttered, “Nothing’s free anymore.”  This was an echo of my own observation that the give-aways at this year’s fair seemed fewer and less interesting than in other years.  Although, the magnet clip from Iowa tourism is nice.

Anderson Erickson is still offering samples of its products. Unfortunately, lemonade was being served the day I was there. Having tasted the beverage before I knew it was proof that AE should stick with dairy products. Cookies was promoting its salsa, which isn’t bad but not so good that the company should stray from its barbeque sauce products.

Most food vendors’ booths had no lines but plenty of people were seen with ice cream cones and pork chops on a stick. The Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters was the only site with a long line. On Thursday, Boone County Beef Princesses were taking orders in the express lines where $2.75 hamburgers were featured from 2-4 p.m..

Nikki (pictured) certainly enjoyed her pork chop. Nikki was trained as a service dog by Dog Expectations in Newton. She is alert for the early signs of a seizure, but also is sensitive to feelings in general and can tell if a child has been abused. She accompanies Kevin Johnson of Des Moines who works as a school-based artist in residence. Johnson takes Nikki to the fair every year on her birthday. This year she is 12 and was celebrating with Ruth Bergland of Boone.

The theme of this year’s fair is “Sounds like fun.” As I looked around the fair, I thought “Why bother?” might be a more accurate theme. Cheap plastic toys could be bought for less money at a dollar store than at fair booths. Bauder’s ice cream can be found on Ingersoll Avenue year-round. I could buy cheese curds offered by one vendor with more guarantee of freshness at the Valley Junction farmers’ market.

Then I realized why we need to attend the fair. Cell phones were mostly quiet and laptop computers were scarce. Instead, people were looking at each other and interacting without the buffer of electronic equipment. That is reason enough to bother: an opportunity to interact with each other and to share moments in real-time and in real-space, an opportunity to part of something human.

Guest Writer: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.