The Iowa State Fair begins this week, running from August 7th-17th.

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley was asked his thoughts on this long-standing Iowa tradition, “Make sure you go. It’s an outstanding event that is kind of a composite of what Iowa is all about. Whether it’s agriculture, industry, or services, I think you see it all in one spot there. If you don’t know about Iowa, you will learn more about Iowa by going to the State Fair than any one other thing that you could do. Make sure you see the butter cow, the biggest pig, the biggest bull. Make sure you have a pork chop on the stick. We’ll be there at least one day, sometimes I go for two days.”

The internationally acclaimed Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country. Annually attracting more than a million people from all over the world. The largest attendance in Fair history was set in 2024 with 1,182,682.

Washington County is represented in a variety of ways at the fair, including Morgan Leichty representing Washington County for the Iowa State Fair Queen contest, the City of Kalona hosting an information booth, and Tyler Lukavsky being selected to participate in the Governor’s Steer Show.