August 16, 2013: Lego Iowa at the Varied Industries Building.
When I got my advance State Fair ticket on the last Saturday in July at a Cedar Rapids-area Fareway, the cashier said it was the first one she’d sold. The fair was still about two weeks away — and the advance ticket isn’t quite the discount it used to be — but it made me wonder.
The fair isn’t invisible in the eastern part of the state — the Gazette had a story last week and I’ve seen a billboard or two. But it seems…less.
Omaha, apparently, is drowning in promotions for everything-on-a-stick. That makes sense because the Nebraska State Fair was relocated to Grand Island in 2009 and it is to the Iowa State Fair what the Tama County Fair is to the Clay County Fair. (This also explains the rise in Husker-branded things in vendor stands.)
The fair has 4H projects, fair queens, and ag producers from every corner of the state, but many Iowans don’t have such connections. It’s possible I’ve misjudged the situation, but to me a year without the fair is unfathomable, and I want every Iowan to share the same love.