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The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa. The 2007 Iowa State Fair was held August 9-19th and featured the theme, "Sounds Like Fun." more...

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History

The first Iowa State Fair was held in Fairfield in 1854. The fair was held again in Fairfield in 1855. For the next several years, the fair was held in various towns, mostly in Eastern Iowa. The fair was held in Muscatine in 1856-1857, in Oskaloosa in 1858-1859, in Iowa City in 1860-1861, in Dubuque in 1862-1863, in Burlington in 1864-1866, in Clinton in 1867-1868, in Keokuk in 1869-1870 and 1874-1875, and in Cedar Rapids in 1871-1873 and 1876-1878. The fair moved in 1878 to Des Moines. After the state legislature and the city of Des Moines appropriated funds for the fair in 1886, the fair moved to its current location at East 30th and University in Des Moines .

In the over 150 years of the Iowa State Fair, there have only been a few years when it did not take place. In 1898, the fair was cancelled due to the World's Fair in nearby Omaha, Nebraska as well as because of the Spanish-American War. The fair was also shut down in 1942 due to World War II when the state provided the fairgrounds to the military to be used as a supply depot. The fair re-opened in 1946.

The fair celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2004. Also in 2004, the fair set an attendance record with 1,053,978. visits.

Attractions

The fair grounds are made of over 400 acres of which 160 acres are wooded campsites. Yearly attractions include the butter cow and the Midway's Double Ferris Wheel.

Livestock and traditional attractions

The Iowa State Fair places a great deal of emphasis on the agricultural presence in the state. To that end, there are many livestock shows and sales. These include the contests for the biggest animals: the Big Boar, the Big Ram, the Super Bull, and the Largest Rabbit. There are also livestock shows of sheep, swine, beef and dairy cattle, goats, llamas and rabbits, as well as cat and dog shows.

Additionally, the fair is home to several traditional contests and tournaments, including rooster crowing, sheep shearing, pigeon racing, turkey, duck, and chicken calling, wood chopping, pie eating, arm wrestling, banjo, fiddle, accordion, harmonica, mandolin and piano playing, and backgammon, chess, cribbage, and checkers tournaments.

Furthermore, the fair traditionally has many free musical and other events going on. These include Latin music, a capella music, country music, rock music, Jimmy Buffett and Beatles "tribute bands", stilt walkers, magicians, puppet and marionette shows, acrobats, and exotic animals like tigers and alligators.

Read more at Wikipedia.org