“Nothing Compares” to the Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair is celebrating 100 years of the world-famous Butter Cow and offering new print-at-home admission tickets for Fairgoers, making the Fair a better-than-ever travel destination. The 2011 Fair is August 11-21.


Longtime Fair butter sculptor "Duffy" Lyon in 1961
with her second solo butter cow.  Lyon,
affectionately known as “The Butter Cow Lady,”
passed away in June, but her memory
will be honored at this year’s Fair.


Since the Fair’s first butter sculpture in 1911, the Butter Cow has been a beloved Fair must-see for Iowans and Fairgoers from around the world. The Butter Cow is constructed from wood, metal, wire, steel mesh, and, of course, butter – six hundred pounds of low moisture, pure Iowa cream butter. That’s enough butter to cover 19,200 slices of your morning toast!

You won’t want to miss this buttery celebration, so check out these highlights to join the birthday fun:


• Opening Ceremonies
8:30 a.m. Aug. 11 – John Deere Agriculture Building

The Fair will kick off with a birthday salute to the Butter Cow. Join us for the grand unveiling of the Butter Cow and companion sculpture and savor some cake (for the first 1000 Fairgoers) at this birthday bash for an Iowa icon.


• KRNT “Butter” Cow Chip Throwing
11 a.m. Aug. 17 – Farm Bureau Pioneer Hall

Cow chip throwing is a popular tradition at the Fair. Watch this year as contestants fling yellow chips, a new twist in honor of the Butter Cow. Or pick up a chip yourself and join the fun! Registration begins 30-60 minutes prior to the contest.

• Battle of the Butter Sculpting brought to you by AMPI
4 p.m. daily – Anne and Bill Riley Stage sponsored by Pepsi

The search for the best butter sculptor is on! Watch teams compete to create a butter masterpiece from 55 lbs. of butter. Teams will have 30 minutes to sculpt their work of art before a winner is selected to be displayed next to the world famous Butter Cow.


Sarah Pratt, the Fair’s official
butter sculptor since 2006, 
pictured with her first solo butter cow.


• Butter Cow Art
The Fairgrounds will be filled with art that pays tribute to the Butter Cow. Try to see all of the 60 concrete cows painted by Iowans to celebrate the Butter Cow, and don’t miss Butter Cow-inspired chainsaw carvings, sand sculptures, and flower beds. Be sure to check out the Fair’s first ever Together We CAN exhibit featuring a larger-than-life replica of the Butter Cow sculpted entirely from cans, located in the Varied Industries Building.

Check out our website for more info. Plan your day with our online daily schedule. Or check out the Grandstand and Free Stage lineups!

This year it’s easier than ever to visit the Butter Cow and the Fair with new print-at-home tickets. You can also buy your tickets at Hy-Vee and Hy-Vee Drugstores, Fareway Stores, Dahl’s Food Stores and the State Fair Ticket Office. Advanced admission tickets are available at up to a 30% discount at $7 for adults and $3 for children ages 6-11. Children ages 5 and under are always admitted free.

Lisa Brus, Iowa State Fair

Life is Sweet in Le Mars

Once in a while you visit a town that is so inviting you begin to imagine living there. The people are friendly and helpful. The shops are clean with outgoing staff. And the visitor's guide is packed with so many public activities, city parks and events that you wonder how anyone has time to work with all the fun taking place.

Le Mars is that town.

Ice Cream Capital of the World®

Here in the US people eat an average of six gallons of ice cream per year. And over 100 million of those gallons come from Wells Enterprises, maker of Blue Bunny. In 1994 the Iowa State Legislature designated Le Mars as the Ice Cream Capital of the World® because more ice cream is produced by a single company here than anywhere else in the world.

 While you can't get an ice cream tour at the production facility, you'll find the next best- or possibly even better- thing at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor downtown. The Historic George E. Pew building was transformed into an ice cream parlor from yesteryear, complete with antique marble ice cream bar, soda fountain, and wooden booths. Choose your favorite treat- but bring an appetite; nothing here is small.


You may be jolted back to the 21st century if you choose a booth as some have interactive mounted displays which share the history of Wells and show how some of your favorite Blue Bunny treats are made. If your seats don't have a display you can visit one of the interactive kiosks just up the grand staircase. You'll also be able to see Blue Bunny and Wells packaging from days gone by- anyone remember Dr. Wells soda?

The third weekend in June brings the annual Ice Cream Days festival. From Wednesday to Saturday Le Mars celebrates the tasty treat that made it famous with daily ice cream socials, live music, the Ice Cream Cone-ival, a parade and other public events throughout the town. If your kids like parade treats this is the best we've experienced- Bomb Pops from Blue Bunny and chocolate milk from Land O Lakes Dairy (also located in Le Mars).

Man Can't Live on Ice Cream Alone

Though I would be willing to challenge that remark, we were directed to a couple of really great eateries in Le Mars.

The first was Bob's Drive In. Famous for their Tavern- the Eastern Iowa name for a loose meat sandwich, the locals we spoke to couldn't stop raving about the cheese curds. One girl said, “You have to try them... it's like they're made with love.” Others said we couldn't leave without trying a Bob Dog- a natural casing hot dog smothered in loose meat. Yum, on both counts.


If something a little less greasy sounds good don't miss Habitue Coffeehouse and Creperie. Lunch here is divine. Almost any sandwich can be served in a crepe and breakfast crepes are served all day. For picky eaters you can even get a plain meat/cheese/bread sandwich with chips. And the dessert case, filled with scrumptious cupcakes, will give the ice cream parlor a run for your dessert dollars.

Life is Sweet

This is the city slogan for Le Mars, and just a weekend there proved that to us.

Have you enjoyed the sweet life in Le Mars? Please share your favorite memories in the comments!

Jody Halsted, Family Rambling

A Step Back in Time in Kalona

Iowa’s Washington County -- and the town of Kalona in particular -- are well worth exploring. The county boasts a fine collection of barn quilts, and the area is home to a large population of Amish and Mennonites, whose influence can be seen in an abundance of countryside businesses.

I started my recent visit in downtown Kalona (just south of Iowa City on Hwy. 1), with a late lunch at the Kalona Bakery. The menu is small – mostly sandwiches and pre-packaged salads – but I ate my fill for a mere $5.85, including a piece of pie. The bakery features take-out selections, noodles, baked goods, and more. Next door, the upscale Tuscan Moon Grill offered appetizers, salads, pasta, and entrees.

After lunch, I poked through two of the town’s many antiques shops: the Pink Begonia and English River Antiques – both charming, clean, and filled with affordable, good-quality antiques. I also visited the Kalona General Store, which has a little bit of everything, and the Village Shoppe – a great store for quilters.

I hesitated to spend too much time shopping downtown, because I wanted to get to the Kalona Historical Village, and it closes at 4 o’clock. For a $7 entry fee, you get a guided tour of the well-preserved historical village as well as entrance to the Quilt and Textile Museum, which is located in the Kalona Historical Village Welcome Center.

The buildings in the historical village all originated in this area of Iowa, but all have been moved their present location, starting with the relocation of the Rock Island Depot in 1969. Now, visitors can tour not just the depot but the Grout Church, built in 1867; the Victorian Wahl House, built in 1892; Richmond Post Office; Straw College, a one-room school house; a buggy barn; log house; loom house; Amish Country Store, and “grandpa house” (built in 1890 to provide retirement living for the Old Order Amish when the younger generation took over management of the farm). The tour guide takes you through the church, the house and its wash house, and through the Wahl Museum, which tells the story of life in early Kalona. The smaller buildings can be visited on your own.

Back inside the visitor center, I toured the two rooms of the quilt museum. One room features the “English” quilts – that is, quilts made by non-Amish – and the other room features the Amish quilts. A large collection of spool cabinets is displayed in each room.

By this time, the historical center was closing for the day, so I headed out of town. But first, two more stops: Stringtown Grocery and the Kalona Cheese Factory.

Stringtown Grocery is a fascinating place that offers fresh baked goods, produce, and an incredible array of bulk groceries and hard-to-find items. Some shoppers appeared to be purchasing enough large bags of flour and other grains to last through a coming apocalypse. (Perhaps they bake for a living?) It was indeed an eclectic mix of shoppers. An Amish man parked his horse-drawn carriage beside the store and loaded up on fresh vegetables and dairy items; a little girl in front of me bought penny candy. I was amazed at the variety of goods being offered in the tiny store: noodles and vegetable seeds and real vanilla extract; nuts, grains, baking supplies, and dried fruits packaged into bags and plastic containers with hand-written labels; local cheese and butter; and spices galore – all priced very reasonably. I must go back with a grocery list.

My next stop was the cheese factory on the northern edge of town. There you can watch cheese being made and buy local and other assorted cheeses in a small shop. It smells wonderful!

I saw a number of horse-drawn carriages during my visit to Kalona, and many of the local farms offer goods for sale. I saw signs for baked goods, fresh eggs, and garden supplies. You could easily spend the weekend just driving through the countryside. It’s a bit like stepping back in time — in a good way.


Carole Gieseke, Iowa Girl on the Go