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Rides on the Mighty Midway. Animal-calling competitions. Fireworks. Funnel cake. Kettle corn. You’ll find all these things, and more, at most every fairground. But a few fairs—we picked five—broke the mold with their innovations, which turned into longstanding traditions.
1. Big Tex—State Fair of Texas Dallas, Sept. 26-Oct. 19 bigtex.com The 75-gallon-hat-wearing, 55-foot-tall cowboy statue and official greeter of the annual State Fair of Texas began in 1949 as a Santa Claus statue, commissioned by the local chamber of commerce to drum up Christmas shopping in Kerens, Texas. Then, in 1951, former fair president R.L. Thornton purchased the statue for $750 and hired a Dallas artist to transform Santa into a giant cowboy. Hence, Big Tex, who has stood watch over fairgoers ever since. “The fair has softened his looks over the years,” says fair spokeswoman Sue Gooding, 60, noting the nose job, the addition of a mechanical arm that waves, and installation of the remote speaker system that gives voice to the towering Texan. At age 50, his temples were painted gray. An electrical fire destroyed much of Big Tex in 2012, but a taller, heavier and stronger version returned to anchor the fairgrounds last year.
2. Butter Cow—Iowa State Fair Des Moines, Aug. 7-17 iowastatefair.org -14- | EXTENDEDWEEKENDGETAWAYS.COM ~ June, 2022
It’s like butter. Only more so. For over a century, 600 pounds of butter were transformed into a perfectly sculpted cow by way of tools mostly found in the common kitchen and by a sculptor’s hands, and served as the proud symbol of the Iowa State Fair.
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Always kept behind glass inside a refrigerated room kept at a cool 40 degrees, the fair’s first buttery bovine, commissioned to promote Iowa’s dairy industry, was sculpted by J.K. Daniels in 1911. Four other sculptors, who take an average of five days to build the animal’s frame out of wood, metal, wire and steel mesh before layering on the butter, have maintained the tradition ever since.
3. ClassicCoaster—Washington State Fair Puyallup, Sept. 5-21 thefair.com Since 1935, the Classic Coaster—the only remaining wooden fairground roller coaster in the United States—has been thrilling fairgoers with its steel-railed dips and turns. Soaring 55 feet above the Washington State Fair midway, the coaster was originally built of Douglas fir beams, carried to the grounds on horse-drawn wagons and hoisted into place with a Model A Ford. Claim to fame: Dozens of couples entering a radio station’s annual wedding contest have said “I do” while taking its clickity-clackity plunge.
4. ProntoPups—MinnesotaStateFair St. Paul, Aug. 21-Sept. 1 mnstatefair.org
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