106 Summer Destinations

August 6, 2024

By Joseph Hopper

Iowa’s county fairs are as unique as their names — names like the Great Jones County Fair, the Mighty Howard County Fair, the Mississippi Valley Fair, the Keokuk County Expo and the World’s Greatest County Fair, aka the Clay County Fair.

Iowa has 99 counties, so many people assume there are 99 county fairs in Iowa. Close! Currently, 106 county and district fairs are held in Iowa each year. Iowa’s county fairs range in size from the very intimate — focused primarily on 4-H and FFA youth shows — to huge, sprawling fairs featuring rides, entertainment, concessions and more.

Want to get up close and personal with Iowa agriculture? Want to try some deep-fried, one-of-a-kind food? There’s a lot to see and do at your local county fair, which is often just a short drive away.

Mud Sport

The Central Iowa Fair is held in Marshalltown each summer, less than an hour’s drive from Des Moines. “If you’re a 4-H or FFA member, it’s absolutely a tradition to spend your summer at the Marshall County Fairgrounds,” says Jodi Breniman, president of the Central Iowa Fair Board. “We want to provide entertainment and a great time.”

One of the headline events at the Central Iowa Fair is the annual mud volleyball tournament. Shallow mud pits are dug and filled with water, nets are hoisted up, and teams of up to 11 people try their best to overcome the slippery terrain and their opponents.

“I think this is about our fourth or fifth year of the tourney,” Breniman says. “It’s just gotten bigger and better every year. The adults love it just as much as the little kids do. It will continue to be a tradition for years to come at the fair.”

Mickayla Jordan played in the tournament for the first time this year, joining her college roommate’s squad. Despite a few plunges into the mud to try to save a rally, she says there were a lot of laughs all around. “It was a good chance to get together with friends and meet new people,” Jordan says. “The mud was warmer than I expected it to be, and it was slick. We had a lot of fun.”

Ag Architecture

Oskaloosa is home to the Southern Iowa Fair, which was the Iowa State Fair site in 1858 and 1859 and is still the heart of 4-H and FFA heritage. It features some of the most picturesque fair barns and buildings you’ll find in Iowa. In fact, the Stock Judging Pavilion was built in 1919 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The beauty of the local ag architecture is not lost on David Nieuwsma of Dave’s Miniatures. Fairgoers constantly stop by to see Nieuwsma’s exhibit, which features intricately reconstructed miniature farm buildings. Some buildings represent where Nieuwsma grew up, and some of the miniatures’ larger counterparts are just a few footsteps away on the fairgrounds. He says it’s great to see people enjoying his creations.

“I love the old barns and buildings,” Nieuwsma says. “This is a way to try to preserve those buildings. The Southern Iowa Fair was a big part of my youth, so I wanted to commemorate that and pass it on to future generations. Hopefully, many people will enjoy it as much as I have. It’s your own little world, and you can kind of make it whatever you want it to be.”

Reconstructing the farm buildings at a smaller scale can take 100 to 200 hours. Nieuwsma says photographs and memories often help ensure everything looks right. Peeking into the miniature buildings, fairgoers will find highly detailed recreations of farm life: farmers working with their tools, livestock resting in their pens and workers going about their daily chores. The miniature buildings even have lighting inside.

“I’ve been building buildings for maybe 13 years now,” Nieuwsma says. “As a kid, I liked playing with farm toys, but I didn’t have any barns or buildings to go with them, so I’d make them out of cardboard. On a 4-H tour, I saw a play barn and thought, ‘Man, that’d be neat.’” He took a few woodworking classes in school, learned some fundamentals and started building his own buildings. “Working with miniatures is something I enjoy. A friend told me, ‘Don’t wait to retire to start your hobby.’ I took his advice.”

Ewe Better Believe It

When attending one of Iowa’s county fairs, it’s not uncommon to catch a rodeo show. Cowboys and cowgirls, bucking bulls, lassos — it’s the kind of stuff country singers dream about.

This year at the Hardin County Fair Grandstand, right before the excitement kicked off, some of the smallest fairgoers tried their hand at a more recent rough-and-tumble rodeo tradition: mutton busting.

With helmets firmly attached and armed with all their bravery, youngsters tried to hang on to a rowdy sheep for six seconds. Few made it past one or two, but all got a great cheer from the audience and an unforgettable rodeo memory at the fair.

Photo credits: Joseph Hopper