The Iowa State Fair is here!

This summer tradition brings visitors to Des Moines from all around the world, so we thought it would be fun to showcase our top 5 favorite facts about The Iowa State Fair. Did you know...

1. The very first Iowa State Fair was held in Fairfield, October 15-17, 1854. The budget for this inaugural event was $323. The fair moved to the present location in 1886. That makes the fairgrounds 127 years old in 2013 and looking to the future, The Iowa State Fair is scheduled out until 2020!

• 2013 - August 8-18
• 2014 - August 7-17
• 2015 - August 13-23
• 2016 - August 11-21
• 2017 - August 10-20
• 2018 - August 9-19
• 2019 - August 8-18
• 2020 - August 13-23

2. The largest fair turn out was in 2008, with 1,109,150 total attendees. The second highest attendance was in 2011.

3. August 16, 1983 was the hottest day recorded at The Iowa State Fair, at 108 degrees!

4. Sonny & Cher had the largest concert back in 1972, with 26,200 people over two shows.

5. The Iowa State Fair showcases 60+ foods on-a-stick:

Shrimp Corndog
Smoothie On-a-stick
Bacon Wrapped Riblet
Deep Fried Brownie
Coconut Mountain
Soft Salted Chocolate Dipped Almond Pretzel
Deep Fried Sweet Corn Corndog
Rib Shack Cowboy
Jalapeno Corndog
Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Chip Cannoli
Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop
Fruit
Double Bacon Corn Dog
Bacon
Chocolate-Covered Frozen S'more
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Chocolate-Covered Deep Fried Cheesecake
Griddle Stick
Cake Pops
Fair Square
Chocolate-Covered Tiramisu
Chocolate-Covered Turtle Mousse Bar
Twinkie Log
Octodog
Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Bar
Chocolate-Covered Key Lime Dream Bar
Carmellows
Pickle
Pork Chop
Corn Dog
Cheese
Cajun Chicken
Sesame Chicken
Carmel Apple
German Sausage
Teriyaki Beef
Corn on the Cob
Cotton Candy
Veggie Corndog
Turkey Drumstick
Nutty Bar
Hot Bologna
Chicken
Monkey Tail
Honey
Ice Cream Wonder Bar
Deep-Fried Snickers
Deep-Fried Milky Way
Deep-Fried Twinkie
Breakfast Lamb Sausage
Deep-Fried Ho-Ho
Deep-Fried Cupcake
Dutch Letter
Chocolate-Covered Cheesecake
Pineapple
Hot Lips
Cornbrat
Chocolate-Covered Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich
Rock Candy
Salad
Hard-Boiled Egg
Unicorn Lolipops
Rainbow Popsicle
Push-ups
Turkey Tenderloin

With plenty of fun to find and people to watch, we hope you all enjoy The Iowa State Fair this year.  For more details on tickets, schedules and more, check out www.IowaStateFair.org.