DES MOINES, Iowa — The 2024 Iowa State Fair, likely one that will go down in the history books, has officially come to a close.
The fair started with a parade on Aug. 7 with marching bands and floats going all along Grand Avenue.
Once things kicked off on day one, the 11 days of the state fair were defined by fall-like temperatures, with only a few showers interrupting the festivities.
“We’ve had fair days over the years before where you’re so exhausted because you’re so hot,” attendee Pat Kottemann said.
Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons said the near-perfect weather contributed to record-breaking crowds. The first Sunday and Tuesday saw the highest turnout for those days of the week while the first Saturday set an all-time single-day attendance record.
“When you take a look at the really strong programming that our staff put into the fair and couple that with abnormal August weather, you end up with a fair that’s setting all sorts of records.”
Parsons specified that a strong Grandstand lineup that included Jelly Roll, Foreigner, Ne-Yo and Gabriel Iglesias likely also contributed to the larger crowds.
“Jelly Roll put on a darn good show to a massive crowd,” attendee Janice Frank said. “He rocked it. It was amazing.”
The bacon cheeseburger egg roll from Winn and Sara’s Kitchen took home the award for People’s Choice Best New Food. It’s an achievement that led them to completely sell out of it on the second to last day of the fair.
The 2024 Iowa State Fair was also a year of major milestones. Connie Boesen ran her stand, Applishus, for the first time as Des Moines mayor and the sky glider celebrated 50 years of taking fair-goers high in the sky.