A fair assessment
August 22, 2004
Slinging ice cream 12 hours a day ain’t easy.
Will Schroeder knows that first hand, after serving Nitro Ice Cream — which he helped invent as an ISU student — at the Iowa State Fair last week.
“It’s a grind, but you know, it’s exciting,” Schroeder said. “Afterwards, you crash, but, you know, it’s worth it.”
Nitro Ice Cream, originally a Veishea project in 1999, is flash-frozen using liquid nitrogen, making it smoother than other ice creams.
Schroeder introduced it a year later at the 2000 Iowa State Fair, where the product took off. This year, 10 to 20 thousand of the more than 1 million fair attendees experienced Schroeder’s concoction.
But Nitro is just one of the many home-grown sights, smells and tastes on display at the state fair.
The smell of grilled Iowa pork mingles with the cidery-sweet tang of roasted apples, kettle corn and fried candy bars. A constant hum hovers over the grounds — people talking, children’s high-pitched voices, laughter and a steady stream of music.
The Iowa State Fair resembles a theme park, complete with the throngs of people on a hot summers day.
The theme, of course, is Iowa.
The fair showcases many Iowa products, from shirts made out of corn and homemade soy-wax candles to prize-winning artwork and livestock. There are also tasty treats, like the deep-fried Twinkies, Oreos and candy bars — classics at the fair, along with food on a stick.
“I had a corn dog and I tried a deep-fried Snickers bar,” said Anne Greenwood, senior in English. “My boyfriend bought it, and I ate just a couple bites of it. It was like a really thick funnel cake wrapped around a melted snickers bar. It was kind of interesting.”
The Iowa State Fair is the most famous state fair in the country, said Kathy Swift, marketing director for the Iowa State Fair. She said its nationwide publicity has increased the number of people traveling to Des Moines for the fair this year.
“In May, USA Weekend Magazine nominated us as the No. 2 ‘Summer Fun Spot in America,'” Swift said. “The New York Times is listing a best-selling travel book called ‘1,000 Places to See Before You Die.’ The only Iowa destination, the only state fair in the country to be listed, is the Iowa State Fair.”
More than one million people attended last year’s fair, Swift said. She said the number of fair-goers this year will be determined after the end of the fair. The fair ran from Aug. 12 through Sunday.
“It was ridiculously crowded,” said Matthew Wihlm, senior in animal science. “Which was both a good and bad thing, I guess, because we had huge support for our state fair, but the crowds were somewhat annoying.”
Swift said every day has been busy at this year’s fair, except for Aug. 18, when it rained.
“We have spent a long time getting ready for this fair,” Swift said. “One hundred and fifty years in the making, and three years in the planning.”
Special events for the 150th anniversary fair included a torch run, where runners ran into Des Moines from all four corners of Iowa; reunions of state fair queens and Bill Riley Talent Show winners; an authentic horse caravan that traveled from Fairfield to Des Moines and the permanent addition of a granite globe fountain to the fair.
“We dedicated a wonderful new ball fountain, a six-and-a-half ton granite ball floating on a few inches of water, which is our permanent memorial to the state fair,” Swift said.
Outstanding Lifetime Accomplishment Awards were presented to Joe and Duffy Lyon. Both are dairy cow breeders, but Duffy Lyon is more widely known as the Butter Cow Lady.
This year’s life-size butter cow was shown alongside a 150th anniversary butter cake and a butter barn, all made by Duffy Lyon.
“My friend’s grandmother makes the butter cow,” Wihlm said. “I always enjoy seeing it because it’s so lifelike, and it’s amazing how much work goes into it to get such fine details.”
The section of the fair dedicated to Iowa State University, in the William C. Knapp Varied Industries Building, was filled with students.
Most people who came to the ISU display were from the university, though not all, said Kathy Hein, Reiman Gardens bookstore buyer.
“One person drove all the way from New York,” Hein said. “We try to get people to see Iowa State [and] what we have to offer,” she said.
There were even some sights at the fair that most Iowans had probably never seen: animals like the Patagonian cavy, the zebra, the emu, the ostrich, the wallaby and the Sicilian donkey.
The exotic animals were found at Hedrick’s Petting Zoo, where camel and pony rides were also available.
Inside the petting zoo, Chihuahua-sized baby pygmy goats munched food from paper cups held by children, their tails twitching rapidly.
More familiar animals, such as pigs, cattle, chickens, horses and sheep were also shown at the fair.
Jenna Bristle, sophomore in agricultural business, has shown sheep and horses at the Iowa State Fair for seven years.
“I really like showing my horse down there and just meeting people,” Bristle said. “After you go there for so many years you see people from all over the state, so it’s fun to go back every year and see them again.”
Bristle didn’t show any animals this year, but instead worked at the Western Edge, a clothing and tack store at the fair.
“I worked over 80 hours in a week,” she said. “There were so many people there. It was crazy.”
Swift said this year’s fair, especially busy because of the media attention, should have more visitors than previous years.
“I think that we’ll set a record,” Swift said.
