Did the Iowa State Fair make any actual announcement about cutting back its hours, or did it just happen?
It was easy to remember, and there were stickers if you forgot: Buildings Open 9 to 9. But now the buildings close at 8 PM.
The Des Moines Register‘s 2019 Iowa State Fair “what you need to know” story, a compilation of information from the fair, says the buildings are open from 9 AM to 9 PM, and the fairgrounds overall open from 7 AM to 1 PM. That’s backed up by a KHAK radio information piece.
The fair announced on January 8, 2020, that ticket prices that year would increase from $12 to $14, the first increase since 2016, and advance tickets would go up from $8 to $9, the first increase since 2013. In a WOI-TV story, a Facebook commenter bet there would not be a record high in attendance that year. (“Amazing Race” sound effect of doom goes here, or at least a link referencing it.)
In the Register’s similar fair information story for 2021, building hours had been cut to 9-to-8, without any acknowledgement of change. In addition, the fair hours overall were cut to 8 AM to midnight! What’s the deal? I, of course, will not be showing up to any location that early unless my life depends on it, but this seems like a very notable change for an event that prides itself on having attendance over 1 million every year.
And while I’m on the subject: The murals in Ye Olde Mill incorrectly put an apostrophe in Richard Rodgers’ name, spelling it “Rodger’s”. I don’t do that ride every year, so I don’t know how long that’s been the case, but it’s embarrassing and needs to be fixed.