The Iowa State Fair through the eyes of the competitor looks very different than the typical sight seer type fair goer. Any person who has ever competed at the Iowa State Fair knows that the fair may only officially run for eleven days, but for us it starts way before then. For me my journey of competing at the Iowa State Fair started about fourteen years ago, when I was five years old. I started with open class food and moved my way up to vegetables, 4-H static exhibits, FFA tractor restoration, photography, and 4-H, FFA, and open class livestock.

The fair has helped shape the person I am today. It showed me what true competition looks like and gave me a place to learn how to lose graciously and win humbly. Which is why every person who has competed at the Iowa State Fair has a never ending appreciation for the fair. To us it is more than the corn dogs, more than the Midway rides, and more than even the butter cow. Because to us, it is the place where all our hard work over the summer, and sometimes over the year(s), gets a chance to be showcased for all to see. We finally get another chance to try for those amazing purple banners, and the chance to be in the parade of champions.

Yet, even when the fair doesn't place where we yearned for that year, we don't say good-bye, but more we say we will see you again next year. The true fair competitor never gives up, even when he or she wins, they never stop trying and working for better. That is what the Iowa State Fair really instilled in us, a will to never give up. Even when the odds are stacked against us and even when we have some of the best breeders of livestock in the state, or some of the best photographers, we never stop trying. We never back down from any challenge no matter the size.

This is why the Iowa State Fair was my first true love at the age of five, and still today at nineteen and being placed from anywhere from dead last to first place, I still love every second I spend there, and cannot wait to continue to spend my time there. It is also why I encourage every fair goer to try at least once competing at one of the greatest, and in my opinion the best, state fair in the United States of America. Any person who competes will not regret the experience. I cannot guarantee you a life changing moment or the grand prize, but I can guarantee an experience that will change your fair going experience. So get out there, see the Iowa State Fair, but also remember the fair is more than all the new tasty foods, all the crazy rides, and even the ice sculptures and butter cows, it is simply all about the experience. And I want my Iowa State Fair experience to be filled with stories of competition, and stories of loss, and stories of winning, and most importantly the memories of friendships I made along the way by competing at the Iowa State Fair.

So lastly, I wish the best of luck to anyone and everyone competing at the Iowa State Fair.

Love,

A True Fair Competitor