August 8, 2024 • 12 mins
CoolKay and Countyfairgrounds.net interview the 2024 Iowa State Fair with Marketing Manager Mindy Williamson. We talk about parking, grounds acts, whats in exhibit buildings, fair food and things to do on the grounds and 4H... and events coming up after the state fair is over.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, This is cool K from County Fairgrounds dot Net.
And you're the marketing director for the Iowa State Fair,
right I am okay, So the fair is coming up.
I believe it's starting, Nora.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It is. It'll be here before we know it.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Okay, all right, Do you give me a little bit
of history of the fair. How many years it's been running?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, So this is our one hundred and seventieth year.
We started in eighteen fifty four, and we've changed a
lot over the years, but the reason we started was
to make agriculture better in Iowa, and that is our
main event still today.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, And you've been there for one hundred and seventy years,
right close ten.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
But I have a long history here at the fairs.
So as a kid, you know, I was a four eacher,
I participated in our state wide talent search, and my
sister always participated in some of the Pigtail, Ponytail Brave contests.
So I went to the fair every year as a kid,
(01:09):
and then as an adult. I actually was a sponsor
for the fair before I came to work here. So
I love the fair and I love all the different
parts that it gives back to Iowa.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
There's a lot of people that come to the store.
Do you have any idea with the attendance.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Is last year we had one point one million. We've
been over that one million mark since about the mid eighties.
So our ticket sales actually this year are way up
and we're looking at beautiful weather, so we'll see what
that brings for attendance this year.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Okay, all right, So one of the first questions that
comes to mind I'll ask you is what's parking like?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The parking We have limited on site parking here at
the fairground, so we have three parking lots that butt
up to the north of our actual fairgrounds and those
can get full ish during the fair. We've never completely
filled them, but we have a great relationship with our
(02:19):
neighborhood around the fairgrounds. A lot of people park cars
in their yards and have for generations. And we also
work with our busing system. We have a dart system
in Des Moines and we use that for shuttle service
from three different locations and they bring roughly two hundred
(02:41):
and fifty thousand people to our fairgrounds each year.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Okay, so if I'm a handicapped person, how would you
advise I go about this.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
We have ada parking on our grounds, and so you
need to show that badge you come in and they
will park you in that specific area. Then we have
golf carts that will pick you up in our parking
lots and take you to the gates. And if you
need assistance with a scooter or things like that to
(03:12):
rent on the ground, so you can do that. All
of the buses, the shuttle buses that come onto the
fairgrounds are also EIGHTYA equipped and so you can ride
one of those shuttle buses in and next to the
gate that they drop off is also a scooter rental tent,
so it's relatively easy. We do have about four hundred
(03:35):
and fifty acres here for our fair grounds, so it's
a lot if mobility is an issue for you.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Okay, all right, Well suppose I'm coming into this gate
of yours with like a bunch of kids under twelve.
What do you suggest I do? First?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Oh, we have a lot of free things to do,
so if you come in with kids. We have little
on the farm, which is an immersion into basically where
your food comes from. It goes through the different commodities
that we grow here in Iowa. And it ends at
a grocery store where you turn in your fruits and
(04:14):
vegetables and your crops and can choose an item an
ice cream bar or a granola bar from our grocery
store that is celebrating twenty years this year. We have
an animal learning center that where baby animals are born
throughout the far so there's cattle, sheep, goat, stucks. There's
(04:37):
even a goat playpen in there. And then this year
we have two other kids activities which our kids can
cook so you can learn how to cook in the
kitchen with your kids, or your kids can learn how
to be independent in the kitchen. And then we have
Cowboy boot Camps which is panning for gold, saddling up
(04:59):
a horse and doing all those sorts of fun cowboy
things this year.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun. One of
the things I would ask and I would worry about
too if I was a senior, or even if I
was just coming in there. With kids. Restroom facilities, it's
always a big question.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yes, we have eightya accessible restrooms. We even have an
adult changing station in one of our first aid offices,
So we want to be accommodating as we can. We
have mothers restrooms and we also have family restrooms. We
have some nursing stations, and then our restrooms are sort
(05:40):
of sprinkled throughout the grounds. All of our buildings have restrooms,
and then we have some porta Potti is also available
and a few of those are accessible as well.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Okay, what about groundsax.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Sure, Yes, During the day we have local entertainment that
happens on our free stages, and then in the evening
we have entertainment that we pay to come in on
our three stages, but the fair goer gets to see
them for free. This year, we also have two acts
(06:19):
that are extreme type things. So one is a trampoline
act with some acrobat and the other one is a
high dive act. We also have chainsaw carvers, glass blowers
and other artistic demonstrations. And then strolling on our grounds,
(06:40):
we have a one man band called Biandaloney. We have
an illuminator which is mirrored man, and then we have
another strolling act called the ice Cream Show.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
The ice Cream Show, you want to explain that a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I'm not omit. Sure he has performed on our stages before,
and so I'm anxious to see what his act looks
like as a strolling act this year, so they go
throughout our grounds and stop people in view some entertainment.
So he's done juggling before and some other things. So
I don't know if that's what he has planned this year,
(07:21):
So we'll find.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Out, okay. And then another question comes to mind, which
I'm sure you probably have a lot of food concessions
sprinkled around.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Oh. Yes, we have about two hundred food vendors here.
This year, we have eighty four new foods, so they
love coming up with something new. We have about sixty
items that you can get on a stick. Our biggest sellers,
of course, are the traditional corn dog been in Iowa.
We love anything made with pork, and we saw a
(07:53):
lot of pork chops on a stick, and we saw
a lot of bacon wrapped things all over the fairgrounds.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
And what's your favorite fair food?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I have quite a few. So I like Trucky's tenderloins.
Their hand spreaded and handmade, and they saw them as
a sandwich and they also saw them at strips, which
is great. And then we have a local vendor of
ice cream patties and it's called Botter's ice Cream and
(08:24):
they make up peppermint patties. So those are two of
my favorites.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Okay, so is there so you're saying that your stages
really are pretty much all free on the fairgrounds during
the fair during the day.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yet they are and we have one grand stand stage
that is for our acts, and we sell tickets to
those in the evenings. And so we are an eleven
day fair, and so we have eleven different acts on
our grand stand stage.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Okay, well give me an idea of some of them.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Oh yeah, we start with a Christian act Lauren Diegel.
We have a couple of country acts Thomas Rhett and
Brett Young. This year we have a sold out show
for Jelly Roll. This year, we have a iconic rock
(09:16):
group Motley Crue. We have also Foreigner this year. We
have a comedian Fluffy Gabriel Iglesias. And then we have
a pop act in Neo. We have a festival act
in the Avett Brothers. We close out the fair on
the very last day for our Sunday Fun Day, Family Day,
(09:40):
and we have kids bops.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Okay, you also have your stay fair. I mentioned you
got a lot of four h buildings.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We do. Yes, we have quite a few livestock barns
where four eachers can show livestock and that's like cattle, horses, go, chickens,
you name it. They show in those livestock barns. And
then we also have a full building, our four h
(10:08):
building committed to those static projects and those presentations that
four chers bring to the state Fair.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Hey, I see you go. Out of contrasts going on?
Is that normal for this fair?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
We have about three thousand activities that happened in our
eleven day span, and we have some real crazy Danny
contests like husband calling, whistling and mom calling, nail driving,
cow chips throwing, rubber chicken throwing, so a lot of
(10:43):
yelling and throwing we have during the fair.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Okay, all right, I know this is a huge fair
that has a lot a lot of stuff that goes
on during the year. So you can use this idea
of some of the things that you're coming up after
the fairs.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, we have about two hundred ish non fair events,
so we have a flea market that happens each month
with the exception of you know, during the fair, and
then we also host a lot of other events like gymnastics, wrestling,
(11:19):
We have corporate events here. We have a lot of
RV shows or hot tub shows. We host a lot
of weddings in our buildings or on our stages, so
you never know quite what we'll have going on on
the fairgrounds, but our buildings are used a lot of
the time.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Okay, sounds like a great time, and we'll get this
up and hopefully people can get some information from it
and help you out.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Absolutely, go to Iowa Statefair dot org. Check out all
the great things we have going on, and if you
can't make it this year, then I hope you can
make it to the fair in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Thank you, I've enjoyed talking to you.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You too, You have the best day.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Bye bye, bye bye
Hi, This is cool K from County Fairgrounds dot Net.
And you're the marketing director for the Iowa State Fair,
right I am okay, So the fair is coming up.
I believe it's starting, Nora.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It is. It'll be here before we know it.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Okay, all right, Do you give me a little bit
of history of the fair. How many years it's been running?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, So this is our one hundred and seventieth year.
We started in eighteen fifty four, and we've changed a
lot over the years, but the reason we started was
to make agriculture better in Iowa, and that is our
main event still today.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, And you've been there for one hundred and seventy years,
right close ten.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
But I have a long history here at the fairs.
So as a kid, you know, I was a four eacher,
I participated in our state wide talent search, and my
sister always participated in some of the Pigtail, Ponytail Brave contests.
So I went to the fair every year as a kid,
(01:09):
and then as an adult. I actually was a sponsor
for the fair before I came to work here. So
I love the fair and I love all the different
parts that it gives back to Iowa.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
There's a lot of people that come to the store.
Do you have any idea with the attendance.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Is last year we had one point one million. We've
been over that one million mark since about the mid eighties.
So our ticket sales actually this year are way up
and we're looking at beautiful weather, so we'll see what
that brings for attendance this year.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Okay, all right, So one of the first questions that
comes to mind I'll ask you is what's parking like?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
The parking We have limited on site parking here at
the fairground, so we have three parking lots that butt
up to the north of our actual fairgrounds and those
can get full ish during the fair. We've never completely
filled them, but we have a great relationship with our
(02:19):
neighborhood around the fairgrounds. A lot of people park cars
in their yards and have for generations. And we also
work with our busing system. We have a dart system
in Des Moines and we use that for shuttle service
from three different locations and they bring roughly two hundred
(02:41):
and fifty thousand people to our fairgrounds each year.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Okay, so if I'm a handicapped person, how would you
advise I go about this.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
We have ada parking on our grounds, and so you
need to show that badge you come in and they
will park you in that specific area. Then we have
golf carts that will pick you up in our parking
lots and take you to the gates. And if you
need assistance with a scooter or things like that to
(03:12):
rent on the ground, so you can do that. All
of the buses, the shuttle buses that come onto the
fairgrounds are also EIGHTYA equipped and so you can ride
one of those shuttle buses in and next to the
gate that they drop off is also a scooter rental tent,
so it's relatively easy. We do have about four hundred
(03:35):
and fifty acres here for our fair grounds, so it's
a lot if mobility is an issue for you.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Okay, all right, Well suppose I'm coming into this gate
of yours with like a bunch of kids under twelve.
What do you suggest I do? First?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Oh, we have a lot of free things to do,
so if you come in with kids. We have little
on the farm, which is an immersion into basically where
your food comes from. It goes through the different commodities
that we grow here in Iowa. And it ends at
a grocery store where you turn in your fruits and
(04:14):
vegetables and your crops and can choose an item an
ice cream bar or a granola bar from our grocery
store that is celebrating twenty years this year. We have
an animal learning center that where baby animals are born
throughout the far so there's cattle, sheep, goat, stucks. There's
(04:37):
even a goat playpen in there. And then this year
we have two other kids activities which our kids can
cook so you can learn how to cook in the
kitchen with your kids, or your kids can learn how
to be independent in the kitchen. And then we have
Cowboy boot Camps which is panning for gold, saddling up
(04:59):
a horse and doing all those sorts of fun cowboy
things this year.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun. One of
the things I would ask and I would worry about
too if I was a senior, or even if I
was just coming in there. With kids. Restroom facilities, it's
always a big question.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yes, we have eightya accessible restrooms. We even have an
adult changing station in one of our first aid offices,
So we want to be accommodating as we can. We
have mothers restrooms and we also have family restrooms. We
have some nursing stations, and then our restrooms are sort
(05:40):
of sprinkled throughout the grounds. All of our buildings have restrooms,
and then we have some porta Potti is also available
and a few of those are accessible as well.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
Okay, what about groundsax.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Sure, Yes, During the day we have local entertainment that
happens on our free stages, and then in the evening
we have entertainment that we pay to come in on
our three stages, but the fair goer gets to see
them for free. This year, we also have two acts
(06:19):
that are extreme type things. So one is a trampoline
act with some acrobat and the other one is a
high dive act. We also have chainsaw carvers, glass blowers
and other artistic demonstrations. And then strolling on our grounds,
(06:40):
we have a one man band called Biandaloney. We have
an illuminator which is mirrored man, and then we have
another strolling act called the ice Cream Show.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
The ice Cream Show, you want to explain that a
little bit.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I'm not omit. Sure he has performed on our stages before,
and so I'm anxious to see what his act looks
like as a strolling act this year, so they go
throughout our grounds and stop people in view some entertainment.
So he's done juggling before and some other things. So
I don't know if that's what he has planned this year,
(07:21):
So we'll find.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Out, okay. And then another question comes to mind, which
I'm sure you probably have a lot of food concessions
sprinkled around.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Oh. Yes, we have about two hundred food vendors here.
This year, we have eighty four new foods, so they
love coming up with something new. We have about sixty
items that you can get on a stick. Our biggest sellers,
of course, are the traditional corn dog been in Iowa.
We love anything made with pork, and we saw a
(07:53):
lot of pork chops on a stick, and we saw
a lot of bacon wrapped things all over the fairgrounds.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
And what's your favorite fair food?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I have quite a few. So I like Trucky's tenderloins.
Their hand spreaded and handmade, and they saw them as
a sandwich and they also saw them at strips, which
is great. And then we have a local vendor of
ice cream patties and it's called Botter's ice Cream and
(08:24):
they make up peppermint patties. So those are two of
my favorites.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Okay, so is there so you're saying that your stages
really are pretty much all free on the fairgrounds during
the fair during the day.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yet they are and we have one grand stand stage
that is for our acts, and we sell tickets to
those in the evenings. And so we are an eleven
day fair, and so we have eleven different acts on
our grand stand stage.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Okay, well give me an idea of some of them.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Oh yeah, we start with a Christian act Lauren Diegel.
We have a couple of country acts Thomas Rhett and
Brett Young. This year we have a sold out show
for Jelly Roll. This year, we have a iconic rock
(09:16):
group Motley Crue. We have also Foreigner this year. We
have a comedian Fluffy Gabriel Iglesias. And then we have
a pop act in Neo. We have a festival act
in the Avett Brothers. We close out the fair on
the very last day for our Sunday Fun Day, Family Day,
(09:40):
and we have kids bops.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Okay, you also have your stay fair. I mentioned you
got a lot of four h buildings.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
We do. Yes, we have quite a few livestock barns
where four eachers can show livestock and that's like cattle, horses, go, chickens,
you name it. They show in those livestock barns. And
then we also have a full building, our four h
(10:08):
building committed to those static projects and those presentations that
four chers bring to the state Fair.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Hey, I see you go. Out of contrasts going on?
Is that normal for this fair?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
We have about three thousand activities that happened in our
eleven day span, and we have some real crazy Danny
contests like husband calling, whistling and mom calling, nail driving,
cow chips throwing, rubber chicken throwing, so a lot of
(10:43):
yelling and throwing we have during the fair.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Okay, all right, I know this is a huge fair
that has a lot a lot of stuff that goes
on during the year. So you can use this idea
of some of the things that you're coming up after
the fairs.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Yeah, we have about two hundred ish non fair events,
so we have a flea market that happens each month
with the exception of you know, during the fair, and
then we also host a lot of other events like gymnastics, wrestling,
(11:19):
We have corporate events here. We have a lot of
RV shows or hot tub shows. We host a lot
of weddings in our buildings or on our stages, so
you never know quite what we'll have going on on
the fairgrounds, but our buildings are used a lot of
the time.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Okay, sounds like a great time, and we'll get this
up and hopefully people can get some information from it
and help you out.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Absolutely, go to Iowa Statefair dot org. Check out all
the great things we have going on, and if you
can't make it this year, then I hope you can
make it to the fair in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
Thank you, I've enjoyed talking to you.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You too, You have the best day.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Bye bye, bye bye
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