The Iowa State Fair ends tomorrow, and I won't be going this year. My parent's house is about nine blocks away from the fairgrounds and I think I've only missed going maybe two or three years in my life. The fair is one of the most fantastic things to do in the state, and (I feel a little hokey saying this) but it's the one place I can think of that really shows what Iowa is and who Iowans are. I know what passes for a state fair in Montana and Missouri, and they simply cannot compete with what we've got.
The fair is essentially eleven days of competitions, shows, food, exhibits, and displays. Every night there are fireworks (best viewed out our bathroom window until the neighbor's trees got too tall a few years ago) and before we got the air conditioning in 1995 you could lie in bed and listen to hum of the races and tractor pulls held some nights.
I realised the other day that next summer may be my last year as a resident Iowan. This also means it would be my last chance to enter anything in the competitions. Ever since I was old enough to enter things, I kept insisting that I would do it next year, but it keeps looking like next year will be my last year. So next year I'm entering as much as I can afford. Baking, photography, art- if I can send it in, I'm going to enter it.