Just got back from the Iowa State Fair. Butter cow, particularly good photography exhibit, and amazing grilled sweet corn and pork chops.
I’ve been to the Minnesota State Fair many times, and have also hit Arizona, Washington, and the Michigan UP Fair.
What is great about your state fair?
So, @intparent, what were the wackiest food products you saw?
We don’t have state fairs around me but various county and town agricultural fairs. More small potatoes - lots of 4-H stuff, draft horse pulling, and the typical fair foods. I have been to the Texas State Fair many times, but that was many years ago.
I love the Iowa State Fair! We go almost every year and it’s so fun. The food (especially the pork chop on a stick) is yummy and the butter cow and other exhibits are great! I think my daughter tried deep fried Kool-Aid last year.
Reminds me…I need to get back to the Weight Loss Buddy Check In thread, lol.
D2 had an “apple taco” today – Granny Smith apple with caramel wrapped in a churros taco. They serve a half pineapple with fruit and meat in it – we didn’t try it, though.
Grew up in Texas, where every year we got a day off in the fall (Fair Day) + a free ticket to go to the State Fair in Dallas. Gosh those were good old days!
It’s bad when one has to ask if their state (Michigan) has a State Fair. I assume there is one but must be on the eastern side of our state. I can see how Iowa would have a good one. I have a cousin who flies up every year from Atlanta to take her dad who lives in Minneapolis to their State Fair. She certainly wins best daughter award and I will miss her posts about them going when they come to an end due to his age.
Teachers in Texas still get a free ticket to the state fair. There is a lot of lobbying, begging and calling in of favors to ask those of us who aren’t going to pass tickets to family members of those who are.
This year’s Michigan State Fair is in Novi, Aug 31-Sept. 4.
Last I heard (a few years ago), Michigan had stopped having a state fair in the lower peninsula. I think it used to be somewhere near Detroit. I grew up a couple hours from there, but never went to one. The UP still has one, and I went a few years ago when we were passing through on vacation.
Minnesota’s is great – huge and interesting. I can see why they would make it a tradition. 
Edited: Ah, it is back in Michigan
Can anyone describe what is different or interesting at the Texas fair?
The Ohio State Fair is very good too. They have butter sculptures. A lot of very good entertainment.
https://kdminer.com/news/2017/jul/27/ohio-fair-butter-sculpture-features-athletes-choco/
Unfortunately this year on opening day, a ride malfunctioned killing one person (an 18 year old who had just signed up for the Marines) and several other people were seriously injured. From what I have heard, attendance this year is down significantly.
Oh, I saw that. 
Regarding butter, Minnesota has butter heads. They sculpt the heads of each year’s dairy princess and her court. D1’s kindergarten teacher was one of them “back then”. They served it at a pancake breakfast as part of her wedding celebration if I remember correctly,
We don’t have a state fair…but we can go to the Eastern States Exposition…the BIG E. it’s awesome!
We lived in Chicagoland and adopted the Wisconsin State Fair as our state fair because we didn’t feel like driving downstate. But mainly because of the fresh made cream puff barn - worth the wait no matter how long the lines. And you got to walk past the butter cow!
Of course there were also the cheese curds. And the maple syrup cotton candy in the Wisconsin building one year…
The State Fair of Texas is great! i think it’s the biggest in the country It lasts about 3 weeks and as kids we would get free tickets and our schools would have fair day so we could go during the week. The big news before the fair is what new foods are in the food contest. This year some of the food concession choices include fried cheesecake stuffed apple sundae, deep fried bacon wrapped mozzarella with jalapeno ranch, and funnel cake bacon queso burger. All typically unhealthy but it’s fun to see what they come up with. When my kids were younger we would go to the petting zoo and watch the sheep dog herding show. Also, if your looking for a new car all the major car manufacturers will have all their models out in the auto building so you can see them all in one place. If we lasted until the evening, there’s a lighted parade every night w fireworks.
@123txmom Can’t forget the fried butter and Big Tex!
As a kid I was involved in 4H. I did not show livestock but there are other parts of 4H. A couple of years I got to present at the Ohio State Fair. It was so exciting!
“…Don’t miss it! Don’t even be late!” The song in your thread name is great! Brings back fond memories!
What is “Big Tex”? @deb922, my D2 was in 4H. She went to the MN State Fair several times with wildlife biology or entomology exhibits. They stay overnight, which is pretty cool. Except the year that she caught H1N1 flu from a fellow exhibitor.
@intparent use Google images for Big Tex.