Fair 2024 – Monday, August 12

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[Paul Yeager] Hello everyone, and welcome to Fair 2024. I’m Paul Yeager in for Bill Riley. The great Iowa State Fair is in full swing and we are so glad you're here because we have a lot to share with you. 

There’s a reason the fair attracts more than a million people from all over the country every year. It’s a massive event that encompasses so much of what Iowa is known for and loves.

Tonight kicks off a full week of state fair highlights on Iowa PBS - including livestock, contests, food and a lot of fun. For the next six nights, we’ll bring you a full hour of the very best our state fair has to offer.

[Paul] Coming up tonight. It’s your chance to see some old iron in action at the antique tractor pulls.

The cowgirl queens will showcase their horsemanship, leadership and confidence.

And our own Travis Graven will tell us more about some of the 84 new foods at this year’s state fair.

So let’s get started with the event that brings fairgoers together every year no matter the weather. It’s the Iowa State Fair Parade.

[Abby Brown] It's a cool, sunny evening in Des Moines. The weather is perfect, and the crowd is ready to kick off this year's fair. Don Hummel is this year's Iowa State Fair Parade grand marshal. So, Don, what led to that distinction? 

[Don Hummel] I had worked several years for other superintendents there, and when Tom Corey ran for secretary of agriculture, he called me and asked if I would do it.

[Abby] You have a rich and strong and long history at the fair. How many years is this? 

[Don] This is 31 years for me as superintendent.

[Abby] And it doesn't start here, I know you do work back at home, too. So where is home, and what do you do there? 

[Don] Home is Elk Horn, Iowa. And I substitute teach now, I retired from Iowa State University, and so I kind of like working with kids, so I get back to it that way. 

[Abby] Have you practiced your wave? 

[Don] No. I'm getting all sorts of grief on how my wave is gonna be. 

[Abby] Maybe a practice right now. Can we see it? There it is. 

[Don] Okay. Looks good.

[Abby] So if there's one thing you're looking forward to at the fair this year, what is it? 

[Don] I've had exhibitors calling me saying they think they really got a 500 pound ram this year, so we're gonna look for that. 

[Abby] What are you doing here today? 

[Woman 1] I'm here to watch the Iowa State Fair parade. 

[Abby] You come every year? 

[Woman 1] I do, yeah. 

[Abby] What is it so important about the parade that you have to come every year? 

[Woman 1] Well, it's the kickoff to the Iowa State Fair, so, of course you have to watch it. And I just love watching the queens. 

[Abby] Me, too. 

(Queen contestents sing "Our Great State Fair)

[Woman 2] I've ridden horses all my life, and I could not even dream of not being around a horse every day. 

[Woman 3] The advice I have for younger riders is just to create a bond with your horse and not rush into anything. Just take your time. 

[Woman 4] The Cowgirl Queen is unique to Iowa. We have such a heritage, such a history. 

[Eric Moorman] There's 110 total queen contestants, including junior and senior. There's three rounds. Each round comes in, and three judges will pick their top five. There's 15 in each final round. Junior division is age 10 to 15, senior division is, age 16 to 26. 

[Jill Paxton] Because this is primarily a horsemanship class, the greater value is going to go to the position and talent and ability of the rider. When someone rides, they should use their seat, their weight, they should be able to use their legs, they should be able to use their hands and their voice. Those five basic criteria are involved in all of the way we control and move the horse. The better the rider, the less we'll see of what we call their aids, their ability to communicate with their horse. 

[Brooke Myers] I've been competing in the Cowgirl Queen Contest for the past 4 years, and last year, in 2023, I was finally crowned Junior Cowgirl Queen. The advice I have for younger riders is to practice how you would show. And don't make it such a stressful experience, because just go in there and have fun and ride your horse. How you know it. For the future, I plan on riding on an equestrian team in college. And after college, hopefully have my own training business and continue to show horses. 

[Amani Roche] My history with this event, I was in it for the past two years, riding her each year, and I think I just wasn't confident enough to win. Looking back now, I could not have won with just where my brain was at at the time. And this year, I've grown in a much closer relationship with God and reading my bible, and I just feel like he's put all of these people in my life. Oh, my gosh, I'm going to start crying. And for me to be here today worshiping him. And I love the crown. It's really pretty. 

[Jill] When they're done with this, it adds to their polish. It adds to the finesse that they've learned and their ability to present to the public. And that's something that matters, not just in the horse show ring. They've learned that camaraderie that they've built with a horse who doesn't speak their language. So they've had to learn to find ways to communicate with that animal successfully and create that team membership together that enables them to go out into the world and carry that into other careers. 

[Eva Matthias] My first year in junior, I didn't make the cut. And so, I took a year off and then I went into it again and I got crowned Junior Cowgirl Queen. And then I had to wait until I was 16 because I won it when I was 12. So I went in when I was 16 and I won it. And it meant a lot to me because ever since I was little, I wanted to be junior and senior cowgirl queens. 

[Zoe Fisher] Horses are going to be a part of my life because I want to become a horse trainer. I like the bond that we have with the horses and how many different personalities they have. I competed in 2018 for the very first time as a junior and in 2019 handed the crown down. In 2021, I came back, I didn't make my cut. So then this year, there's a lot going through my head. But after months and months of practicing, we have gotten here. So it's been a dream come true. It's awesome. Well, it took a lot of time. We definitely went through ups and downs, but that's what horses are like. You work, you're with them every day, you keep getting better and learning from them. My advice is to have that confidence, be you. Own it in there. Build that connection with your horse and just go for it. 

[Travis Graven] Can you guess what fairgoers say is the top reason they visit the Iowa State Fair? Is it grandstand entertainment or animal shows? No, it is the food. There are 84 new foods at the fair this year, and I helped judge some of those and narrow it down to the 3 finalists. 

[Man 1] Are you working hard today? Is this your real job? 

[Travis] Yes, this is hard work, and I am happy to do it. I'm not even gonna take a bite. You just have to eat the whole thing. Very fresh, a treat, but a refreshing citrus punch. It'll go great with some lemonade. 

[Man 2] Darn, right.

[Man 3] It's so Iowa.

[Andrew Sayasane] Being from southeast Asian descent, we have egg rolls at our restaurant, and one of our top sellers is the cheeseburger. So we kind of wanted to infuse both those together, and that's how we got the bacon cheeseburger egg roll. 

[Travis] And is it good? 

[Andrew] It's delicious. It's delicious. It's addicting. Bet you can't have just one. 

[Travis] You've hit a home run here.

[Man 4] Oh yeah. That was really good. Really good.

[Jada Smith] We tried some different things. We went with the queso and bacon. We tried ketchup and mustard and just didn't think that it was a hit. So we're gonna do the queso and bacon and a little bit of powdered sugar on top of a small funnel cake. 

[Linh Ta] It is quintessential fair, I would say. It's very much the fun hybrid. You think you know funnel cake and you think you know hamburger, but you don't know them together. 

[Woman 5] It's a full six ounce North Atlantic lobster tail, hand-breaded, lightly fried, a lemon aioli, chives, paprika, and fresh parmesan. And it is gluten free. 

[Travis]This might be the one and only time that you eat lobster on a stick. With aioli, chives. Everything works together here. Elevated fair food. 

[Jeremy Parsons] These are unveiled in no particular order. Winn and Sara's Kitchen. Bacon cheeseburger egg roll. Destination Grill. Lobster, corn dog. Whatcha Smokin? BBQ. The Iowa Sm'oak'ed roll.

[Paul] It's incredible. Wow. Just when you think they’ve thought of everything. There are also 20 new beverages to try at the fair this year.

Nightfall on the fairgrounds is a magical time. As darkness takes over, the lights come on, the temperature cools down and the music heats up. Brooke Kohlsdorf takes us to an event that’s made for those who enjoy a night out at the fair.

[Brooke Kohlsdorf] Fair After Dark brings a new level of excitement to the fairgrounds with some of the classic contests that allow you to let loose and have a little grown up fun. Let's find out who landed on top. 

[Woman 6] On your mark. Get set. Go. 

[Man 4] Come on, baby. 

(Laughter)

[Brooke] Emily, tell us about this Fair After Dark. 

[Emily Wynn] Fair After Dark started a few years ago. It's about getting to come out here, have a good time. It's for our 21 and over crowd, and it's all about fun after dark.

[Brooke] Have you done this before?

[Katie Pierce] No. This is the first time we've ever came after hours here. I haven't been to the fair since I've been 21 at all. So it's just completely different since I've been here when I was younger. It's just like remembering it as a kid versus, like, as an adult, but it's still fun.

[Brooke] You come to this event every year?

[Abby Hawkins] Yes. We have not missed one.

[Brooke] Okay. Why?

Because it's so much fun. Yeah. There's always different activities. A lot of times, activities that are in the daytime geared more towards kids, and so you can come and just cut loose and have a good time.

[Brooke] What is it about being a kid that's so fun at the fair? Because that's what they're doing here. I mean, they're making a diaper and other silly things. What is it that's so fun?

[Emily] I think being a kid here at the fair, there's nothing better.

[Contest Announcer] If you have a diaper. Come up front here. We'll have you right over here. Stand here with the diapers.

[Emily] You get to see everything. You get to see animals. You get to have a decorated diaper.

[Announcer] Contest and champion of decorated diaper. Big girl pants. Thank you. Congratulations.

[Brooke] All right, so what did you make? I think I know what this is.

[Jeff Osborne] Hot buttered corn, Iowa State Fair. Corn. Butter. Pretty obvious.

[Jessica Walker] I wanted to represent the Olympics because that's going on right now. So it started out as the Eiffel Tower. I really don't think I'm gonna achieve the Eiffel Tower, so it may become a corn trophy.

[Brooke] Did you have fun doing the butter sculpting? Was it harder, easier than you thought it would be? 

[Jeff] It was harder than I thought. The butter comes super cold and hard, and it's hot and melty now.

[Brooke] It probably gives you new appreciation for the butter cow, right?

[Jeff] Absolutely.

[Announcer] On your mark, get set, go.

[Emily] It's all about letting people experience the fair from the perspective that we get to see it every day. It's also a way for us to showcase different areas around the fairgrounds that maybe you've never experienced before. We're in the outdoor arena. How many people can say that they've stood in the outdoor arena at the Iowa State Fair? 

[Brooke] PBS, it's a tv. And, kids, these are called rabbit ears, in case you've never seen those before. That's a little knob.

[Campbell & Sutton Hajduch] We won two years ago. 

[Lindsay Barden] This is Aylin, and this is... or this is Eden. And this is a Aylin. 

[Kay Moranville] Several years we were 1st.

[Karen Pope] Last year. We took 2nd. Yeah. We have plenty of blue ribbons at home. I would hate to be a judge. There's so many things, so look at. 

[Contest Emcee] How are you guys this morning? Good. Oh, my goodness. What are your names? 

I'm Macie Ault. 

I'm Kara Buerger. And we're judges at the Twins, Triplets and More Contest at the fair. It's a real favorite. Lots of dedication to a lot of people that attend. And it's always the same time. Starts off the fair. 

[Emcee] Oh, my gosh. So cute. Where are you guys from? 

[Macie] It can be so hard. Even today, we narrowed it down to things like, do they have the same shoes on? Do they have the same piercings or jewelry? But we look at eyes, facial features, that kind of stuff, too. And obviously matching outfits help. 

[Emcee] All right, so who do we have here? 

[Kara] A lot of them, if you'll notice and you look very closely, they move the same. They have a lot of the same mannerisms. And so you notice that and can pick it up very quickly. 

[Emcee] All right, we've got our winners. 

[Kay] We've been doing this twin contest for 35, 40 years. We remember Ed Wilson was one of our first emcees.

[Emcee] Whose done it more than 10 years? More than 12 years? More than 14? Wow. Thanks for coming every single year.

[Karen] It's always so much fun. We get to see everybody. And our group is getting bigger. Much bigger. And I camp the whole 10 days of the fair.

I'm John Robert Arendt.

I'm Robert John Arendt.

[John] A lot of times people from his work will come up and say, "Hey, Bob, how's it going?" And I'll go, "Oh, pretty good. Pretty good." They just keep going.

[Kara] Sometimes it looks like they just met a friend on the street. That one makes it easier, so it's helpful. I have twins, and so early on, I was not judging. And I had twins who entered the contest, but they since have not been entering. And so since they were not entering, I've been judging. I would say the past, maybe 4 or 5 years. But you've been doing this?

[Macie] I used to do it with my twin sister. My mom runs the whole thing. But I've been judging for the past 5ish years.

[Kay and Karen] Togetherness, always having a friend, always being able to celebrate our birthdays together, celebrate the fair together. Yeah.

[Emcee] Somebody decided to make a pulling sled. And they've been called all kinds of things since then. The iron anchor, the mechanical mule. So that became the art of tractor pulling. A lot of work goes into putting this together. This is the first antique tractor pulls here in the past eight years. Again, thank you for coming out to the great Iowa State Fair. I'm sure you're going to find something you didn't expect.

Maesi Wahl from Tripoli, Iowa. She's pulling a Farmall M. She's very proud of that tractor. She does a great job. Let's see how far she gets.

[James Harmon] We have vintage tractors. Randy and I started the Iowa Antique Tractor Pullers this year.

[Emcee] Maesi at a distance, 229ft.

[James] He put on a pull in Guthrie Center a few years ago, and that's where we got the itch.

[Randy Esslinger] We want to thank the Iowa State Fair. A lot of them is veering away from this antique pulling. But the Iowa state Fair, they want it back. They want the entertainment.

[Emcee] Jerry at a distance, 239.7. Boy, that track is taking the horsepower.

[James] Everybody's here to put on a show for the fair. We got a total of around 150 hooks in different weight divisions and classes.

[Emcee] That was up Mike Abbey out of Pella, Iowa, on that Oliver 77.

[James] I am a nervous wreck before a pull comes out. But once it gets going, that's my relaxation right there. Hearing that noise of that chain latch to your hook. When that funk is there, the adrenaline just gets pumping, the smoke, the noise. We got some V8s here today. They're gonna put out a lot of racket. A lot of people like to come see them because their average speed is 25 to 30 miles an hour going down that track. Ours are anywhere from 3 mile an hour to 8 mile an hour.

[Emcee] Randy Esslinger, 1954 Farmall Super H. Good pull, Randy.

[James] My dad was assistant mechanic for super stocks that run Massey tractors. Pulling is my heritage. My dad had 5 different pulling tractors. The one he built for me is still in the family. I know he's looking down on me every day.

[Emcee] Oh, he's getting up again, that governor now, smoothing her right out. Looking good, Chester. Looking good on that little Massey. I believe he's gonna take her right on out the gate. Give me a hand, guys. Hey, that's the pull of the day.

[Paul] When you visit the fair, do you enter any of the contests? There are so many choices. Here are some of the top winners.

Iowa State Fair Parade — Best Use of Theme
1st Place — Iowa Honey Producers
2nd Place — A-NOD For Situational Awareness LLC & A-NOD Inc.
3rd Place — Korn Patch Klowns

Iowa State Fair Parade — Most Creative/Original
1st Place — Fire Cy'd Pizza
2nd Place — Zachary Freedom
3rd Place — Clog Buster's Drain Cleaning & Repair

Twins, Triplets and More

7 and 8-Year-old – Most Alike

1st Place — Sutton and Saige Soutenberg, Pleasant Hill
2nd Place — Aiden and Owen Bender, Pleasantville
3rd Place — Campbelle and Sutton Hajduch, Clive

7 and 8-Year-Old – Least Alike

1st Place — Reese and Riley Wheatley, Massena
2nd Place — Stella and Charlotte Scrivner, West Des Moines
3rd Place — Caylor and Camdyn Lowe, Des Moines

9 to 11-Year-Old – Most Alike

1st Place — Hinley and Hadley McKasson, Indianola
2nd Place — va and Nora Schuck, Des Moines
3rd Place — Zuri and Varah Haley, Sheldahl

9 to 11-Year-Old – Least Alike

1st Place — Eden and Jameson Ortner, Slater
2nd Place — Harper and Tate Vanden Wynboom, Huxley
3rd Place — Quinn and Carver Shannon, Newton

12 to 17-Year-Old – Most Alike

1st Place — Morgan and Katelyn Hoth, Alburnett
2nd Place — Jenna and Nora Grovert, Shellsburg
3rd Place — Nellia and Aurora Duetmeyer, Urbandale

12 to 17-Year-Old – Least Alike

1st Place — Livia and Savanna Davenport, Rhodes
2nd Place — Maddox and Nolen Parkin, Urbandale
3rd Place — Olivia, Elliott, Owen and Ethan, Runnells

Photography

Best of Show (Adult) — Sarah Becker, Grimes
Best of Show (Youth) — Reed Peterson, Oskaloosa
Best of Color (Adult) — Sarah Hovey, Monticello
Best of Color (Youth) — Gabe Kramer, Nevada
Best of Black & White (Adult) — Jean Ubben, Stanhope
Best of Black & White (Youth) — Cassidy Good, Urbandale

Tall Corn

1st Place — Ron Zelle, Waverly -16 feet, 5 inches
2nd Place — Mary Beth Zelle, Waverly - 16 feet, 3 ½ inches.
3rd Place — Doug Gardner, Urbandale - 16 feet

[Paul] Well it’s already time for us to take a short break. But stay with us because we’ve got a lot more for you tonight. When we come back ...

We’ll take in the sights and sounds of the classic car display. We’ll find out where this year’s largest livestock tipped the scales. And we’ll celebrate 50 years of letting our cares fall away as we soar high above the grounds.

So don’t go far - we’ll be right back with all that and more from the great Iowa State Fair, right here on Iowa PBS.

[Blair Ryan] Okay, if you could have a dream fair food at the Iowa State Fair, what would it be?

[Girl 1] Cotton candy.

[Blair] What would your dream Iowa State Fair food be?

[Girl 2]Fried Oreos.

[Blair] Yum.

You can create one dream food for the Iowa State Fair. What's it gonna be?

[Man 6] Probably crappie.

[Blair] I'm here running into my father and my cousin Neil, and we're gonna ask him a couple questions. What would your dream fair food be?

[Father] Tenderloin.

[Blair] Neil, dream fair food?

[Neil] Big fan of the pickle dog.

[Blair] Dream fair food. What would it be?

[Man 7] I missed out on the fried Snickers bars, and right now we're going to get some barbecue.

[Blair] What would your dream Iowa State fair food be?

[Boy 1] Rattlesnake corndog.

[Boy 2] Catfish on a stick.

[Blair] Dream fair food. What would it be?

[Man 8] Everything on a stick.

[Paul] Welcome back, everyone, to our first night of coverage of Fair 2024. It’s great to be here and to be a part of such a long standing tradition.

Ever since the dirt track racing of the early 1900s, cars have been a focus of fascination at the fair. And today, classic car collectors are showing off some really beautiful vehicles.

Whether you're a car enthusiast or not, you’ll be impressed by the design, the history and the nostalgia of the classic car show.

[Tom Kline] Oh, at the fair you're right down here, right in the middle of everything. And you know, Iowa State Fair is the best fair in the world, so you can't beat it. And you get to drive your car in and let people talk to people and have a good day. Everybody's had one of these cars in their family at one time or another. Some lady said she's born in 56, she likes 56. Another lady comes up, she likes a 55 because her husband had one when they were dating and stuff. Just nostalgic. On this one here, they like the tail light because that's where you put the gas in.

[David Clarke] This car my dad bought out of a junkyard when I was ten years old for $35. And when I was 13, we restored it. I've been driving it since I was 16. And about 2008-2009, I completely stripped it down, restored it, did it all over again to where it is today.

[Margie Jameson] This is a 1968 Ford Torino Fastback. We are only the second owners of this car. My husband found it on Craigslist back in 2018, and we found it in Greenup, Illinois. And the sticker is still on it. It's all original. All we had to do was buff it and it came out looking just like this. A lot of people just stop and look at her. She gets a lot of looks.

[Howard Cruchelow] It's a 67 Camero. I found it on Marketplace and bought it. It had been sitting in a farm field for a while, so I had to restore it from the ground up. Put new quarter panels on it, new frame rail in it, new trunk pan, tail pan, new motor, interior. Then put a custom paint job on. It's called dark dramatic blue. It goes from blue to black to purple, depending on the light of the day.

[Chris Wulf] A lot of people don't know what it is. They think it's a Monte Carlo. It is a Buick Grand National. My high school dream car that I couldn't afford back then. Went to college, got married, had kids. And then finally I said, "I'm not getting any younger, so I might as well finalize my dreams and buy the car." Brings back a lot of memories. My daughter's here with me. All the history of everything. You know, we used to park as a kid, you know, everything that dad wanted to see is what we saw. And, you know, and after we started coming here, we saw the other side of the fair. I'm trying to get her involved with all that. See the other side of it also.

[Posey Ceelow] This is Buddy, and he's my best buddy. I raised him to be big ram.

[Jason Ceelow] This breed's big anyway, so there's not much difference you have to do to get them bigger. But when they chase the girls in the spring, they lose a lot of weight. So he's gonna get retired from being a breeding ram. Next year he'll be back a little bigger.

[Alli Mohn] His name is Judah. He's 6 years old, and he was originally used for mutton busting a long time ago. He's from Ohio, so he's traveled all around the US doing mutton busting. And then he was sent away to go to slaughter by someone from previous owners. And then we ended up rescuing him out of there and paying the money to bring him home so we could use him for this.

[Victoria Koller] We are from a little farm in Norway, and we are here visiting a family in Iowa.

[Producer] Did you know you were going to come and do this today?

[Camilla and Victoria] No, no, no.

[Victoria] No, not at all. We knew that we were going to this Iowa State Fair, but we didn't know we're going to show off some sheep.

[Emcee] Weighs 498 pounds. His name is Whip. He belongs to Craig Fetters from Lucas, Iowa.

[Mike Clark] He's a six-year-old boar. He was a family pet. We used him for breeding. And we thought he was big enough and long enough, three dimensional enough to vie for this. So us and friends put it together. We look forward to it.

[Emcee] Six years old, his name is Turkey. This fellow is going to weigh 950 pounds.

[Mike] We knew he's big, and he weighed 780 this time last year. So we thought if we can get him to weigh 1200, we'd be in the money. But there's some big hogs.

[Emcee] 920 pounds.

This boar's name, Red Ranger. He weighs 770 pounds.

Heaviest one so far 1,114 pounds.

[Bryan Britt] This is Finnegan. We won the Big Boar Contest in 2019 and then again in 21, and our boars were pretty close to breaking the record at that time. And I'd like to give the record to run for its money here. At this point, all he does is eat and sleep. The more he grew then we just kind of pulled him aside, you know, we thought, let's take him to the state fair. 

[Emcee] 1,420 pounds. Congratulations.

[Emcee] Welcome to the 41st Iowa State Fair Super Bull Contest. So here comes Albert II. Albert weighed 2476 pounds. All right, here comes Rampage. Rampage weighed 2780 pounds. Our final contestant, this bull's name is Teddy Bear. Teddy Bear weighs 3064 pounds. Teddy Bear beats last year's winner by four pounds. Congratulations to the Ruble family.

[Narrator] Every year, dozens of people from across the country compete in Cowboy Mounted Shooting at the Iowa State Fair. The Travis family out of Creston are mainstays in the Jacobson Exhibition Center, bringing with them a heap of tradition and a lot of fun. 

[Clint Travis] My dad started in 2012. He started doing it, and we all thought it was stupid. We couldn't figure out why he wanted to do that. We don't have time for that. We don't have time for hobbies. And he was going all over doing this. And then finally, I remember it was in 2014, in April, he was shooting at the Iowa Horse Fair at the fairgrounds, and I went and watched him, and I'd never really watched him before. I watched him, and Jamie did as well. I looked at Jamie, I said, "Why are we not doing this?"

[Narrator] The sport hearkens back to the wild west days. Competitors use single action revolvers to shoot a series of balloons, all while riding their horses as fast as they can.

[Bruce Travis] I don't know how many times I've shot, hundreds of times. I'm still really nervous, and the adrenaline's still really fighting.

[Dave Travis] I've played with motorcycles most of my life. I don't think there's anything that can match that rush. You're just flying. Your horse is running all by itself, and you're rolling off shells, and it is a lot of fun. 

[Jamie Travis] I talk to people before they go, and they say to me, "You've done this for ten years. Do you still get nervous before you run?" I said, "Absolutely. I get so nervous before I go." I think the reason why is because I love it so much. If I didn't care about it and I didn't care how I performed or how my horse performed, I'd just go out there and shoot the balloons and walk back out and go back and sit down in the stands.

[Bruce] It's interesting in the amount of shooting. They have levels, and you're always trying to attain the highest level. Everyone starts out as a one. The goal is to attain level six. That's kind of a lifetime goal that I hoped I'd get before I got too old. And last fall, I finally got to be a six, and now I'm doing it for fun. Hopefully I can do another ten years. We'll see. They're making me wear a helmet now, so I'll be the only one with a helmet at the state fair.

[Narrator] The Travis' and their friends compete at events across the country and even host a sanctioned shoot at their farm every summer. But all of them look forward to returning to the fair each year.

[Bruce] It's our favorite shoot. It's frustrating because there are 125 people that want to shoot at the state fair, and we only have room for 75. And it just breaks their hearts because you sign up at 1:00 in the morning, and by 1:01 it's full.

[Clint] You kind of feel a little bit like a celebrity out there with the crowd cheering for you.

[Maddie Gillam] A lot of times, we don't get a lot of people watching our events. It's our families or our fellow shooters who are standing there watching. And don't get me wrong, they're good cheerleaders, too. They cheer really loud, too. But there's just something about a full building of people who are invested in what you're doing and cheer for you when you do well, but also when you don't do so well. There's the "aw." So that kind of is fun, too. 

[Bruce] We'll travel to Shelbyville. We'll go to Amarillo. We'll go all over. Nothing compares to Iowa State Fair.

[Paul] There was some amazing talent on the Riley Stage today. Here are the young Iowans advancing from today’s competition. 

We’ll bring you the Talent Championships here on Iowa PBS, Sunday, August 18 at 8pm.

Next up — most fairgoers would argue it’s the best way to climb the hill and it's celebrating its 50th birthday this year.  Charity Nebbe tells us more about the fair's most iconic ride.

[Charity Nebbe] For 50 years, the Sky Glider has provided a bird's eye view of the sights, sounds, and people at the Iowa State Fair. And believe it or not, one local man has kept it running smoothly since the beginning. So, Tracy, we are starting our ride on the 50th anniversary of the Sky Glider. The Sky Glider was built in 1975.

[Tracy Shedd] 1975.

[Charity] All right. How did you get involved?

[Tracy] The brown roof right there, that's where I grew up.

[Charity] Okay. Yeah, right next door.

[Tracy] It was virtually in my backyard. I was a 15-year-old kid out of school for the summer and riding bike down here, and all of a sudden we seen what's going on. So back then, the company was called Odie Hopkins, and Odie Hopkins was in the process of putting the Sky Glider in to the Iowa State Fair. There was about four of us that lived on the block just north here. We were down here every day putting it in, trying to help, trying to do whatever we could. It was something fun. And then actually, the first day of the fair, two of us actually got put on the payroll. I've been here ever since.

[Charity] Wow. What do you think it means to people to take a ride on the Sky Glider?

[Tracy] Well, Iowa is a very traditional fair. It's a tradition — once people start riding it, they continue to ride it every year. And as we say, "we see the fair from there." People just love it. They enjoy it. For our company, we have 8 of these right now that we own and operate. Minnesota State Fair, Illinois State Fair, Ohio State Fair, Wisconsin State Fair. This is just about the number one for per capita of what rides the Sky Glider.

[Charity] Really? 

[Tracy] Originally this was put in, it had 10 towers and we had 67 chairs on it. In 2005, we relocated 3 towers and added another tower. And then we actually increased the chairs to 90 chairs. And now we're to the point that it'd be nice to have another 20 or 30 chairs.

[Charity] Hey, how are you? Good, Jerry, it's good to see you having a good time with retirement.

[Jerry] Yeah. 

[Charity] Have fun. That's my former veterinarian.

[Tracy] No, is it?

[Charity] You never know who you're going to meet up on the Sky Glider. I know it's a job, and I know you've been at it a long time. What about this brings you joy?

[Tracy] Seeing all the people, the people that we've grown up together here, working at the fair. That is what I call the fair family. We take a lot of pride in how much training we do, how courteous our employees are, and we get a lot of compliments on that.

[Charity] Well, Tracy, thank you so much for taking me for a ride and for 50 years of the sky.

[Tracy] 50 years. Yes.

[Charity] It's hard to imagine the state fair without a Sky Glider.

[Tracy] That's why I'm here.

[Robin Taylor] We're bringing back a popular program that the Blue Ribbon Foundation had had with painting classes here on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. 

[Instructor] And if it's just streaming down paint, you need to rub it on the bottom of the cup a little more. So keep painting that sky if you want. Maybe you have it all painted.

[Robin] We're fortunate to be able to partner with Painting With a Twist and their studio that they have in Urbandale. They're having this fun, creative class for fairgoers. And then a portion of the proceeds come back to the Blue Ribbon Foundation to help renovate and improve the Iowa State Fairgrounds. So it's a win win for everyone.

[Instructor] If you want, you can add clouds in your sky. A couple different ways to do that. You can either use your brush and just a little bit of paint at a time, and you want to keep the bottom fairly flat, but the top, you want to be a more uneven. You don't want it to be a specific shape.

[Robin] One of the pieces that they're doing is a shape of Iowa, kind of on a board with a fantastic sunset and a pasture on it. And then the painters can tweak it how they want, where they could say, "My home is the Iowa State Fair," or just add an extra little touch.

[Instructor] The top right next to our skyline is our darker part. So I'm gonna start there and go right over that skyline just a little bit. You could even put in some rolling hills.

[Robin] They have filled up quite a few of the classes. We were proud to say that two and a half weeks or so before the fair, every single class had people signed up. But we still have plenty of space. And if people are interested, they can sign up online through the Painting With a Twist studio out of Des Moines/Urbandale, or through the Blue Ribbon Foundation's website. 

[Instructor] Just a little bit of white, and then blend that right into it while it's still wet.

[Robin] There's so many activities out here on the fairgrounds and ways to express yourself, whether it's through competition or just participating. And I think everyone's experience at the fair gets better when you actually are participating instead of just watching it. And so maybe you'll discover if you come to this painting class, that you have a talent. And next year, you're going to enter into an arts competition in the Cultural Center and win your own ribbon to take home. 

[Paul] Setting up for the fair begins days, even weeks, before the fair starts. This year we set up a camera in the Varied Industries Building to capture the dramatic transformation.

(music)

[Paul] And with that we’ve come to the end of our first hour of fair highlights. but don’t worry, we’re just getting started. We’ll be on the fairgrounds all week gathering all the fair stories you’ve come to expect and some new surprises too.

Many of you have a tradition of watching our fair highlights programs - and we want to make sure to point out all the ways you can watch or catch something you missed.

You can check out our website, our YouTube channel, and the PBS app, as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages, to get your daily dose of state fair fun. There are several ways you can engage with us about our beloved state fair, anytime, and anywhere.

Now, for tomorrow night’s show ...

Take a seat in the front row of one of the Elwell Family Food Center’s most competitive events. Appreciate the skilled horsemanship of the Charros performance and find out which young woman will be crowned the 2024 Iowa State Fair Queen.

Thanks for being here, everyone. It’s so exciting for us to be back again this year bringing you the best our state has to offer. So be sure to join us tomorrow night for more highlights from our great Iowa State Fair.

Until then, I’m Paul Yeager in for Bill Riley. And as our friend Bill likes to say, Have fun at the fair!

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