2020 Iowa State Fair Has Been Canceled

The very first Iowa State Fair took place in 1854. The Iowa State Fair is one of the largest fairs in the United States. It attracts millions of people from all over the world to eat corn dogs, corn on the cob, look at their signature butter sculptures and enjoy everything that is stuffed into the 445 plus acre fairgrounds in the state's capital of Des Moines.

In 2019 the fair set an attendance record of 1,170,375. This year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic the Iowa State Fair Board has decided for the sake of safety to cancel the 2020 event. This year's event had been scheduled for August 13 through 23.

According to KCRG.com on Wednesday CEO and fair manager Gary Slater made the following statement:

“The decision was complex and considered a wide array of factors. The Iowa State Fair’s top priority is protecting the health and safety of Fairgoers, staff, volunteers, exhibitors, and entertainers. Amid the pandemic, we couldn’t, in good conscience, put on the Fair when we knew access to emergency safety services at the Fair could be limited, public transportation to and from the Fair would not be possible, the constant sanitization of a seemingly infinite amount of high touch surfaces lacked feasibility and social distancing in lines to get your favorite Fair food or walking the Grand Concourse would be difficult.”