Indiana
One of the oldest fairs in the United States is held in Indiana in August. It is especially known for the great hog barn, where the state’s largest pig is chosen each year. Last year it was 1,000 pounds. If anything, it’s the size of an average horse, a grand piano or a small giraffe. Plenty of stalls display their food: bison meat, waffles shaped like twirls, grilled brownies with cheese, local fresh bread. Lotta farmers have tractor races, be careful not to get run over by them. From what my friends tell me, it’s purely an agricultural event by and for farmers. With the same entertainment. But the quality and delicious food attracts tourists and visitors from all over the country.
Florida
Thousands of people come to Tampa at the beginning of the year (February) to enjoy the local winter fair. It has a rich history, but it was moving the date to winter that allowed it to stop competing with similar events and draw huge numbers of people each year. In 2019, half a million people attended the fair. This is a more youthful event, various famous music bands in the U.S. are invited here, this year Budweiser Clydesdales came. Also here is a rich entertainment program: horse shows, games with “cattle yard”, 110 rides (the largest ferris wheel in North America – 155 feet high). Lots of contests for chefs of all levels. Here you can taste absolutely free: red bean pie, rice casseroles, grilled taco cheese. And if you don’t like anything original, you’ll be treated to a delicious pizza.
North Carolina.
This is the place to come at the end of October. Acrobats, a pet show, huge pumpkins, a life-size pirate ship, lots of performances by various stars, a five-day folk music competition, and Homegrown Music Fest. Especially for this fair, they even created a very strange app on your phones, Mobile Dairy Classroom, where you can learn everything you want to know about milk cows while deep-fried jellies, Cuban rolls, fried strawberries, etc. You can milk a cow yourself at the Fair Ark. They call it that because it displays the choicest animals from around the state. There’s also a huge Ferris wheel shaped like a human butt.
Iowa
Held in August. Another one of the most attended fairs in the country, more than 1 million people come each year. The event is especially known for one thing that is popular in photos and eyewitness accounts. It is the cult of butter. It’s all over the place here. Especially memorable is the parade of huge installations of something with butter: cow, big bird, Oscar, TV, etc. Another specialty is all the produce on sticks: waffles, smoothies, bologna, lettuce, etc.
Ohio
Taking place in late July or August. It’s a total madness going on here. Pork butts, deep-fried tofu, horse chestnut pies, fried raincoat as a ball or on a stick. Sticky worm-shaped pies flavored with Fruity Pebble grain glaze are here, too. Butterfly cow, how about that? Iowa is not the only state fair that does something fantastic. For Ohio, however, it’s something truly unique. The Butter Apollo 11 Crew came here this year. So there are also special messengers here who move around the fairgrounds, carrying different foods, etc. These are athletes moving on walking sticks.
Winconsin
August. Here is the oldest race track in the world, the Milwaukee Mile, running on a regular basis. This fair is famous for its food: deep-fried cheese and garlic, deep-fried cookie milk. And a super dish – crumpled sausage, sent into a deep fryer, then wrapped in a pancake, put on a stick and drizzled with syrup. This year they made bug tacos and grasshopper popsicles. It was unusual.
Arizona
October. You can still make time to go here this year. This is where ESports Gaming World will be held – 18 days of video game tournaments, game developers and release demonstrations. Plus there will be: a retro arcade, a rodeo, arm wrestling championships and a monster truck battle. Of the food, there will be chocolate-covered tamales on sticks, pork on sticks in syrup, and roasted watermelon.
Texas
Late September and most of October. The Texas fair is the largest in America. It begins on the last Friday in September and lasts almost a full month. Two million people attend each year. In six years, the 2019 fair is set to return SOAR, a beloved bird show that features falcons performing choreographed flights in close proximity to your head. They like to make a lot of cotton candy here. They also make oil sculptures here. Last year they brought in French Nutella custard cakes, which were the only dish different in flavor from fried chicken waffles with additives.
Minnesota
At the end of summer, when America celebrates Labor Day. Here it’s called the days of the Great Meeting. The rival fair in Texas may be bigger in terms of attendance, but in some ways it has to do with lasting twice as long. The Minnesota fair has a much larger attendance per day. This year’s entertainment included the “Reptile Traveler Show,” which should not be confused with the Snake Zoo, which takes place here as well. Only here the bars serve a “Joey Mary”-it’s like a Bloody Mary, but instead of tomato juice, coffee grounds, instead of a burger served with gluten-free pastries. Also very popular here are tacos in all possible forms.
