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[Iowa Pork Producers] I am Kevin Rasmussen, and I'm a big farmer.

We feel a deep responsibility to protect our environment and ensure sustainability.

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♪♪ Hi, everyone.

I'm Bill Riley.

Welcome back to another evening of fantastic Iowa State Fair highlights here on Iowa PBS.

We'll be here every night this week with a full hour of captivating coverage.

Now, tonight there's something for everyone.

♪♪ Thrill seekers, get ready for some fierce four-wheeled fun.

And hey, you animal lovers, we'll find out if you have what it takes to be an animal doctor.

And for the more sophisticated in the crowd, a relaxing event in the garden.

Tonight, we get started with the food competition that's especially near and dear to our hearts.

It's a Great Iowan Recipe Contest.

And Travis Graven has all the details.

TRAVIS GRAVEN: Some of you may have watched The Great American Recipe on Iowa PBS, so we decided why not try to find the Great Iowan Recipe here at the fair and invited people to share how food connects with their family, heritage, and legacy.

Soon, the winners will be on display right here at the fair.

♪♪ I don't know about the technical aspect of it, but it looks darn tasty.

DIANNA SHEEHY, JUDGE: It does look tasty.

And we'll see.

As we watch me eat.

Yes, it's tasty.

And it has a nice outer crust.

And a nice lattice weave.

LISA LaVALLE, JUDGE: I'm just looking for a little bit of real Iowa, real history, real family stories.

And then a beautiful something that they can show off in a dish or on a fork.

It's all about family.

And then family experiences.

I had a parallel with an old bishop's buffet story of something.

And other stories about cooking with your grandma and making grandpa or your dad so happy for something you cooked.

So I love the fact that I can relate to almost every recipe that's come through here.

TRAVIS: What kinds of stories have you seen so far?

DIANNA: Well, there was a story from an 85-year-old man that entered some apple crisp, and it was a very dear story.

Then another story was an aebleskiver, a Danish thing where it's in a nice little skillet.

It had to do with a great grand parent coming from another country.

TRAVIS: A lot of food does have a story behind it, right?

DIANNA: There is, but a lot of contests don't have a story that is printed up but the stories enhance the whole judging process.

And this particular contest requires a story.

And so that's 20% is on the meaningful story.

This one is exciting.

Growing up on a centennial farm, my family has one of those, that means a lot.

KRYSTAL BELLIS: I made my grandma's famous Christmas caramels and brought them to the fair.

TRAVIS: And what's the story behind them?

KRYSTAL: About 50 years ago, she decided she wanted to make caramels one Christmas when she was about nine months pregnant with my uncle.

She made them and they were instantly a hit and they've been a tradition ever since.

JUDY KIBURZ-HARRISON: I brought oatmeal munchies that my mom used to make.

My grandmother used to enter the state fair, and my mom entered.

And so I started taking care of my mom when she needed help, and she taught me how to do cookies.

She used to do pies and everything, but when she got older, she mainly did cookies.

She wanted me to carry on the family tradition.

She had a stroke in 2013.

I helped take care of her and she passed away in 2017 so I carry on the tradition.

DIEGO RODRIGUEZ-NEGRETE, JUDGE: My style of cooking - there's a lot of tradition that I'm inspired by.

But very much so just ingredients.

I think that's really what was showcased here was Iowa ingredients.

LISA: Makes us all proud to be from Iowa.

Beautiful food and just such skillful entries.

This is the first year of the contest.

I think it was a big success, thanks to everyone that participated.

So I just feel lucky to be here with everybody.

BROOKE KOHLSDORF: We are at the swine barn for this year's FFA Market Swine Show.

It is a big one.

About 600 hogs will make their way through the ring.

Let's meet the judge.

John Hines of Piqua, Ohio will be appraising this year's FFA market hogs.

He breeds show pigs professionally, and has a long history in judging and sow breeding.

JOHN HINES: My role as a judge is to come out here and evaluate the youth exhibiter's projects.

We're looking at selecting swine that excel from the standpoint of combining practicality, with width, muscle, dimension, hogs that are good on their feet and legs.

You look at hogs and judging them from the point of combining power - hogs that are stout and rugged in terms of their feature, heavy bone, big in terms of their rib cage, good in their stoutness indicators.

And lastly, we look for hogs that balance up on the side.

Humans are attracted to square shapes.

We think of hogs in the same aspect.

Hogs are level and good in terms of their lines and lines that are proportionate.

Hogs that have essentially those extra bells and whistles.

I've been fortunate to judge several shows.

I judged the FFA here last year and in 2018, I did the open market hog show.

I raise show pigs myself, and you can picture what you would envision the perfect pig.

And at least myself as a judge, give every kid a fair shake.

Over the time, it has changed.

With any species of livestock, there's different trends that come and go.

Within the swine industry, for probably the past eight to ten years, we've been trying to pick hogs that combine those very same attributes I talked about.

The practicality, the power, the balance from a market stand point.

There's always times when there's more of an emphasis on is this heavier muscled or is this one the widest, is this the neatest looking?

But finding those hogs that are balanced and combine those attributes, and have some of those additional extras that differentiate themselves from their competitors are what most judges in today's day and age looking for.

[ Applause ] ANNOUNCER: Jillian Woodruff of Gowrie is the winner.

Her hog came in at 275 pounds.

JOHN HINES: Thinking about combining that power and balance, she's extremely fluid and functional in her skeleton, she is dense in her skull and bone and painted an ideal picture of a show hog from the side.

That's one that I'm not going to forget.

JILLIAN WOODRUFF: She's been good since we got her.

We've been working for this, and I wanted it.

So you've got to work hard.

You walk them twice a day or more than that.

Rinse them, make sure they have good skin and hair.

Tan them.

You have to make sure you have a good team that's able to help.

This is my second year in FFA.

So pretty fun.

My brothers won it a couple of times, so obviously I wanted it.

BROOKE: And that is a with respect from this year's FFA Market Swine Show.

Congratulations to all the winners.

BILL RILEY: You know, when I think about the weather during the Iowa State Fair, it is August, and typically it's a little hot.

Sometimes that can be an understatement.

But is it really that hot?

We got some trivia for you tonight.

What is the highest recorded temperature at the Iowa State Fair?

Was it 99 degrees?

108?

How about 110 degrees?

Or was it a paltry 85?

We'll bring you the answer later in the show.

But now, let's cool things off with some country music from Iowan's own Jason Brown.

[ Cheers and applause ] JASON BROWN: How are we doing tonight?

This is awesome.

We're back!

I'm Jason Brown and I play country music.

This is the song that started it off.

Here we go.

♪♪ ♪ Well, my momma was a rebel, my daddy was a Yankee ♪ ♪ They got together and made a little hanky panky ♪ ♪ My blood runs north and south like the mighty Mississippi ♪ ♪ Yankee doodle dandy, and I sang Dixie ♪ ♪ I'm a little different, I'm a little odd ♪ ♪ You can't blame me, it was by the grace of God ♪ ♪ He brought my folks together, two birds of a different feather ♪ ♪ Six weeks later a honeymoon, nine months later a delivery room ♪ ♪ My momma was a rebel, my daddy was a Yankee ♪ ♪ They got together and made a little hanky panky ♪ ♪ My blood runs north and south like the mighty Mississippi ♪ ♪ Yankee doodle dandy, and I sang Dixie ♪ JASON BROWN: The kind of music I play, if you mixed George Strait and Bob Seger together.

Traditional country mixed with some '90s country.

I don't know.

It's just -- luckily it's classified as country music, so I let it ride there.

This is to all you lovely ladies out there that use it to get what you want.

♪♪ ♪ I'm going to stand my ground, this time I ain't budgin' ♪ I ain't sorry and I'm not wrong ♪ ♪ You tried that little smile, but tonight it ain't working ♪ ♪ So you come walking down the stairs with nothing but a t-shirt on ♪ ♪ Baby that's no fair, do go there I ain't ready to give in ♪ ♪ You know when you play like that there's no way I can win ♪ ♪ I could try to hold out, try to hang tough ♪ ♪ We both know I don't have a prayer ♪ Yeah, I love the way I lose when you don't play fair I find my inspiration just from my fans, from my life.

I write my own songs, but I don't record a lot of them.

I have recorded a few.

And I've just been fortunate.

I think the song finds you.

I know that's kind of weird to say, but I just feel like I'm a messenger.

Unless I really relate to a song I don't record it.

A lot of people seem like they have the same frustrations, the same experiences in life that I have.

So as I grow as a person, I feel like my songs also grow with me.

And those fans come along, and some of you kind of drop off.

But it's just this ebb and flow of giving a message of where you're at or where you have been in your life.

♪♪ Thank you so much.

How many of y'all is coming to the 9:00 show?

We're going to play for a while, so you better take some energy and be ready to party.

♪♪ ♪ Just got my paycheck, I say we cash it ♪ ♪ That city limit, lets blow right past it♪ ♪ Girl put your sunglasses on, it's a good day to get gone ♪ "Good Day to Get Gone" has been with me for years.

We had an album called Living off the Land.

That was supposed to be the big breakout album of 2012.

I signed a record deal with a company, and the record pretty much got shelved, never saw the light of day.

So I've had that song for a long time.

So when the opportunity came to put it on the new album that I have full control over, we did it.

And I love this song because who doesn't like to hop in a car, go down the road with the radio blasting?

It's a good day to get gone.

♪ That clock keeps on tickin ♪ ♪ And life is for livin ♪ ♪ So what are we waitin on ♪ ♪ It's a good day to get gone ♪ This crowd is different because I'm home.

And it's the fair.

You know, I keep saying there's a lot of history to this.

It just is.

So this stage or the Susan Knapp or wherever, it could be Stockman's again.

It's just the fair.

And I get to see people I haven't seen in a long time and hopefully introduce some new fans to my fans.

That's what it's all about.

I'm Jason Brown, y'all.

Come back for the second set.

God bless you all.

We'll see you at 9:00.

♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] PAUL YEAGER: You see the golf carts at the Iowa State Fair.

We like to give rides, and we're back for Corn Dog Conversations.

John Putney was the first director of the Blue Ribbon Foundation.

John, are you okay riding on my golf cart today?

JOHN PUTNEY: Sure.

PAUL: Let's go for a ride here, John.

So what year did the Blue Ribbon Foundation start?

JOHN: 1993.

PAUL: So in 1993, the fair was starting to show some age.

Did it feel like you were fighting a fire with a garden hose at first?

JOHN: Yes, it certainly did.

You know, the fair board had to use all the revenue generated from ticket sales and concession commissions.

And then they had to use that money to fix roofs and so on.

So there was no way that we could really make any further improvements to the fair grounds.

And so that was, you know, when the foundation started, why, that was our goal.

To enable the fair board to make decisions based on the survival of this fair ground.

PAUL: John, are you okay if we stop for a minute and get a corn dog?

JOHN: Sure.

PAUL: It's time to have a corn dog any time of the day.

What do you like about a corn dog?

JOHN: I'm not sure what I do like.

I really am not big on hot dogs, but I love corn dogs.

PAUL: There's a big fund-raiser called the Corn Dog Kickoff.

How did the corn dog get to be associated so strongly with the Iowa State Fair?

JOHN: When we thought about themes for the Corn Dog Kickoff, the corn dog just seemed to be the main staple of state fair attendees.

So, you know, it just became a natural to call it the Corn Dog Kickoff.

PAUL: It's kind of like the second phrase, it's up there when you say state fair, butter cow, corn dog.

They're all kind of together.

JOHN: That's right.

PAUL: We're in front of the Ye Old Mill.

It's like state fair, butter cow, corn dog, Ye Old Mill.

It is right up there with one of those top memories people have.

JOHN: It sure is.

That was very important that we had that renovated as quickly as we did.

Because it was in danger of being closed, as well.

PAUL: All right.

Let's keep going.

There's a couple more things I want to see.

♪ ♪ We're going by the Administrative Center.

That one looks like a new building to me and not a renovated one.

How did that come about?

JOHN: Well, there was sort of a dilapidated old building there, so we needed to clean that up.

At the same time the fair board decided they needed something for handicap assistance and first aid and just general information center.

So that became a very important part of developing the credibility we knew we had to have.

♪♪ I'm just so happy that we provide a fairgrounds and a state fair that has so many wonderful features that other fairs don't have and other venues don't have.

PAUL: Does that make you proud as an Iowan, to know how we all pulled together?

JOHN: I can't tell you how proud I am.

I think that this undertaking is -- there should be a lot of other ones like this that go on in Iowa.

PAUL: John, thank you so much for going along on this Corn Dog Conversation.

We had conversation and we had a corn dog.

Thank you, John.

JOHN: You bet.

Thank you, thank you.

DANA LAIN: Hi, I'm Dana Lain.

Vet Camp at the Iowa State Fair is an educational and hands on experience for children ages 10 to 18.

INSTRUCTOR: So how many of you guys want to be veterinarians?

Awesome.

DANA: Tell me a little about the activities today.

EMILY LARSON: So these kids get divided into three stations.

At one station they'll do a worm dissection.

The next station they'll talk about nutrition and different digestive systems.

And the final station they'll be learning about large animal health.

So we get a little bit of everything.

INSTRUCTOR: This is your small intestine and you didn't cut into it because there's no black.

So that's a good job.

Okay.

So right under here is going to be the hearts.

See that?

CHILD: Whoa.

Yeah.

INSTRUCTOR: One, and there's two, there's three.

And there's four.

And five.

EMILY: These kids might not have any experience or might think they want to be a veterinarian but don't know what it entails.

Here they can work with an actual veterinarian and vet students to get some firsthand experience as to what it might be like.

LARI RABE: My name is Lari Rabe, and I'm with Agri-Pro Enterprises in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and we are the sponsor of the Vet Camp.

It's for kids and to help our industry and to keep the people interested that want to be a veterinarian.

We started in 2008, and it was 126 students back then, and I think we're up to 400 or so by now.

So yeah, it's been fun.

INSTRUCTOR: What we're going to do is go all the way up in her armpit.

So we have to flip it around the other way, because her heart is on this side of the chest.

So you're going to stick it all the way up here, and you're going listen to that heart beat.

DANA: What has your favorite part been today?

HAILEY: Listening to the cow's heart beat.

DANA: Tell me about the activities in vet camp.

LAUREN: We have been listening to a cow's heart beat and we learned about injections.

INSTRUCTOR: Subcutaneous means just below the skin.

We're going very shallow.

Beautiful, beautiful.

A little more shallow.

LARI: All of our employees are involved.

With the Vet Camp shirts to work all the time, and we get all the products in for the kids, and everybody helps to assemble them.

But it's just a good morale booster for everybody.

A feel-good thing.

INSTRUCTOR: Does anyone know why yours is more dissolved than ours?

Yeah, because the pop has acid.

Whereas ours is just water.

So it's just softening.

We're breaking it down physically.

The top is breaking it down chemically, as well.

DANA: Do you want to be a vet some day?

HAILEY: I do.

I don't know if I'm going to get in, but I hope I do.

DANA: Why do you want to be a veterinarian?

HAILEY: I just really like animals since I was little.

♪ ♪ BILL RILEY: State fair time is the perfect opportunity to show off your talents.

And folks just like you take part every day.

Let's check out the results.

♪♪ BILL RILEY: We're going to take a quick break.

But the state fair celebration is far from over.

So come back for more fair fun on Iowa PBS.

The Riley Stage was the place to be for talent today.

Here are the performers advancing.

Nice job, everyone.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Don't forget, we'll bring you the talent championships here on Iowa PBS, Sunday August 21st at 8:00 p.m. BILL RILEY: Welcome back, everyone, to our second night of Fair 2022.

We're so happy to be here.

Every night this week with you to bring you a full hour of state fair highlights.

Now, the Des Moines Area Quilter's Guild is often a presence here at the Iowa State Fair.

While the pandemic interrupted many things, it didn't stop the quilters from taking on the role of making quilts for charity.

SHARON MEISENHEIMER: I'm with the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild.

Today, we're visiting the Patch Work Pals, a group that is part of the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild.

BILL RILEY: Trying your hand at sewing and quilting while creating blankets for those in need is what the Iowa State Fair sew-in is all about.

SHARON: Ten years ago, we started sewing at the fair, making quilts for children's charities.

And when Covid hit, we had to stop that.

We were making about 600 quilts a year, and the guild took that over in the last couple of years and have made over a thousand each year.

That doesn't happen just overnight.

So we've got a group here that have been making kits and getting things ready so that the guild members can finish them.

Let's go back here and see what they're doing.

When we were at the fair taking out the pins was one of the favorite jobs of a lot of the husbands wandering around, looking for something to do.

Dorothy Fadely, who is the superintendent of Fabrics and Threads at the fair, was looking for a project for the next year that we might do for the people that go there on the camp ground.

And the guild had just started having children's classes.

The project they did was this strip quilt.

And we talked about that and said how we can have a sew-in.

We could bring the supplies.

We would have everything set up and ready to go and we did it.

There were jobs for everybody.

We had little kids, big kids.

One of the jobs the little kids did was pass around candy.

Quilters have to have their chocolate.

It was just a fun place with absolutely no competition.

It was a huge success.

The other thing that's interesting about this is we get a lot of donated fabric.

We have ladies that have cut all this for us from donated material.

And they cut it into the strips force.

So we have a wide selection of material to use.

These are just three flats that we have.

We have a lot of flats to choose from.

And we have, over the last two years, given away over a thousand quilts to various agencies in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

So we have many quilts of many sizes distributed where they're needed.

The whole process is fun to do, putting it together.

When you see it finished, that's the fun part, the whole thing.

And to see those parents and those kids, that's worth a lot.

You know that some kid has something they wouldn't have otherwise, because we work hard to help them.

This soothes your soul.

Once you have done it, it's awful hard to go a day without fabric in your life.

A day without fabric is a day without sunshine.

ABBY BROWN: We're in the livestock Pavilion for the Youth Livestock Judging Contest.

This is where the future of judges are molded.

They're learning to be quick decision makers, teammates and leaders.

♪♪ WILL TAYLOR: The individuals compete together, and do it on their own.

They make their own individual decisions.

But then they're a part of team of four students.

Those four students come together to get a team score.

So that's another intricacy that's very challenging.

Not only do you want to think for yourself and make your own decisions, but you need to stand up and make decisions that will move your team in the right direction.

♪♪ MEGAN CLARK: At this judging contest, we have a couple of different species like cattle, swine, sheep, and we judge them based off like depending on the class, like market classes.

We judge them based on who would do the best on the rail.

We judge for breeding characteristics like soundness and how they reproduce.

♪♪ ABBY: The first stop on the judging tour of the fairgrounds was the outdoor arena for two classes of cattle.

Youth judges are scored using a weighted system.

It rewards correctly picking between a similar animals.

Senior members of the Iowa State livestock judging team give the official placing, which is what the youth judges will be scored against.

WILL: Time is up.

You need to turn your placing in.

ABBY: Then they move to the swine barn for two classes of hogs and two classes of sheep.

The goal of the youth judges is to score the animal classes as closely to the official score as possible.

♪♪ Contestants are also scored by how well they defend their rankings.

MEGAN: As individuals, we're judged on the reasons they give.

So after we judge a class, we have to explain ourself.

CASH VOEGELE: One, two, four, three.

There's two that need to be sorted at the top.

That's after evaluation.

MEGAN: After the judge listens to our reasons, they tell us how we described the animals, how our flow sounds.

ABBY: In addition to building these decision making skills, we're growing the next generation of judges, right?

WILL: Training them to evaluate, training them to prioritize, train good versus bad, things of that nature, absolutely.

I love livestock judging, because it's one of the few places in life where you are forced to make a decision every 15 minutes and forced to defend your decision, as well.

I think that's really the value of this exercise.

♪♪ And that wraps it up for the Youth Livestock Judging Contest.

Congratulations to all our winners.

♪♪ CHARITY NEBBE: I'm here at the Cultural Center.

One of my favorite places to visit at the fair.

There's such a huge variety of arts and crafts to see, and you can often see truly gifted artists in action.

ARTIST: I can make any word or name.

WALTER CREECH: Let me tell you.

This is the best fair in the country.

I have no doubt.

CHARITY: What makes it the best fair?

WALTER: That's interesting that you should ask, because it's the educational theme of the fair.

JIM MILLER: Think of the egg yolk, let off very easily.

CHARITY: And you were an art teacher for many years, right?

I taught for 37 years at 6 different schools in Iowa, because I was an art teacher and a coach.

I'm going to go down till I'm about a quarter of an inch off the bottom.

This is so great, because I get to see so many of my former students here.

CHARITY: And you still get to teach.

So you and your wife, Judy, are a real team in this.

JIM: Every piece we both do.

CHARITY: And you get to make some really special things for people.

What does that feel like?

LANEY PEARSON: Yeah, it's great.

So some people do like anniversaries or just other stuff.

It's really fun to be able to do that.

CHARITY: For people who don't know, what is Henna?

ELABETH DAVIDSON: Henna is a plant that is grown in India.

They mix it with essential oils and you put it on almost like frosting.

It stains your skin and it lasts about one to two weeks.

CHARITY: So you can use it to make all kinds of designs.

ELABETH: Yeah.

A lot of the designs we do here, it was traditionally used in India, the brides would get it on their hands and feet before their wedding day.

CHARITY: It's so fun to watch the kids look at themselves after they get their faces painted.

What is it like?

AMERICA FLORES: All the reaction is just heartwarming.

FACE ARTIST: This is the picture moment that you are going to see.

AMERICA: Seeing those smiles and seeing them get into character, we're doing like a Spiderman or maybe even like a butterfly, a tiger, just bringing that out of the kids.

That's my favorite part.

CHARITY: Is that Prince Charles?

[ Laughter ] ROGER BEANE: People who - especially retired, but anybody, I always tell kids, you can really be sometimes earn you some money.

Otherwise, it's a relaxing thing that you can lose yourself into.

And that's what I like about it.

♪♪ CHARITY: So you're trying to get us all addicted to clay.

That's what I'm hearing.

JIM MILLER: Of course.

BILL RILEY: And now the answer you all have been waiting for.

What is the highest recorded temperature ever at the Iowa State Fair?

99, 108, 110, or 85?

The answer is 108.

That's a hot one.

And that was on August 16 in 1983.

And surprisingly, there's only been six days in Iowa State Fair history where the temperature rose above 100 degrees.

But they were all in the same year, you got it, 1983.

What a scorcher that one must have been.

And what a segue I've got.

Our next segment is really hot, as well.

It's ATV and UTV racing.

Let's check it out.

♪♪ [Engines Rev and Roar] TOBY KRUSE: It is our inaugural Iowa State Fair Cup.

Some racing back out here at the Iowa State Fair.

We have ATVs, UTVs, like the four wheelers you see, the UTVs with the cage over the top and we have entries ranging from 4 years up to 76 years old all participating here today.

♪♪ In total, we have 19 different classes out here.

If you watch the Supercross racing, we started from a standing start on the chalk line.

So it will be cheering for their favorite driver.

The heat races are a short run, like six laps in length.

With the tight corners they've been watching for a place where they can make the passes and moves.

There's some families that they have their sons, their daughters all racing, and the dads even race.

That's what's cool.

It is not only a family event in the pits, on the racetrack, as well.

JOHN BERG: I give my kids everything I didn't have.

The racing family is a huge family.

Everyone will help.

You take a liking to a lot of people.

We help anybody and everybody we can.

JOHN'S SON: My favorite part about racing is I depend on myself, I don't depend on other people.

So if I make a mistake, it's on me.

So I look back and it's on me if I didn't win.

JILL BERG: I take videos to calm my nerves.

Otherwise I would be screaming.

TOBY: A lot of these UTVs here they start out basically on the farm.

But then they alter them a little bit.

♪♪ They'll lower them down to the ground, some high performance shocks.

A course like today is about a quarter mile in length, multiple right hand turns, left hand turns.

You have some high speed portions, some lower speed, and then some jumps thrown into there.

We have on the one end what they call a joker turn, which is the farthest way around the racetrack.

They have to make that turn at least one time during the event.

It's basically you throw them a curveball right in the middle of the race.

CAMERON MAPES: I was pulling over, because I was leading it, and I had to shut the car off to restart it.

Then all of a sudden, I saw this car wreck in front of me.

So it was kind of good for me, because I got a restart.

Then I can go out and win it.

Just keep your eyes open and make sure you stay out of all the wrecks and drive smart.

The thing I like is the race family, coming to the track and seeing all your friends and having fun.

I like winning, too.

I'm pretty competitive.

TOBY: A lot of camaraderie that goes on.

If they have an accident, something happens, they all hop in.

They want to make sure they get back on the racetrack, because it's like my gramp used to say, friendship ceases in a card game, but before and after everybody is friends.

They want to beat you on the racetrack.

It's a racing family.

A tight knit group of folks.

♪♪ BLAIR RYAN: The fair is packed front to back with fun for the whole family.

Sometimes it's nice to do something just for you, the adult.

We found just the thing here at Wine Down in the Garden.

♪♪ Caitlin, tell me about what's going on here this evening.

CAITLIN REMINGTON: So up here in the garden, which is managed by my Bondurant-Farrar students, we are having a live musician here tonight.

We have one and Monday night we have a different musician coming up.

People can come up.

It's free admission for anybody here at the fair.

And you can taste and sample some of the Iowa State Fair wine.

My plant science students got to plan where everything goes, decide where and what to plant.

The kids all came up with their ideas during class.

Egg plants are cool for them to see.

Okra, bell peppers, anything.

All of the produce we get from this garden will go to the food bank here in Des Moines.

BLAIR: Tell us about the wine here at the garden tonight.

EMILY WYNN: This is Wine Down in the Garden, our first time that we're doing it.

We want people to come up and enjoy, have some samples.

BLAIR: Are you drinking only Iowa wines?

EMILY: We are.

We are just featuring our red and white state fair wines.

BLAIR: Why is this spot the feature for Wine Down in the Garden?

EMILY: Last year, we debuted our garden.

It's a beautiful spot up here and secluded.

We just want to draw more attention to it and it's fun to come up and hang out in the garden.

♪♪ BLAIR: What brings you two to Wine Down in the Garden here this evening?

KATIE ADAMS: Well, we love the Iowa State Fair, and this area is new to us.

So we wanted to check it out and we love live music.

BLAIR: Another question, which food at the fair is going to pair best with the white you're drinking?

KATIE: Easy.

A Pickle Dawg, fried, with pastrami and cream cheese.

BLAIR: That's is all you need?

KATIE: That's all we need.

Especially with this nice, crisp white wine.

JACQUELINE WHITE: We're here to visit the Iowa State Fair for the first time.

And we thought it would be lovely to check out the garden, sip on some wine and listen to live music.

RYAN WARREN: There's so much to do, and a lot of great food, which is my favorite part.

BLAIR: Speaking of food, what food do you think will pair best with the wine you're drinking?

JACQUELINE: It's a little sweet.

So I don't know, what do you think?

I would love some dessert with this.

BLAIR: Are you both avid wine drinkers?

JUDY BALSMAN: We are.

So we wanted to try the state fair wine.

BLAIR: And how's it tasting?

MARK ZIMMERMAN: Good.

Only had the white so far.

BLAIR: What fair food do you think will pair best with the wine you're sipping this evening?

MARK: I don't know.

My pork chop on a stick was really good with the white.

JUDY: I'm going with cheese Kurds.

BLAIR: Can't beat it.

On a warm, summer night, it's hard to top a nice Iowa wine with an atmosphere only the fair can provide.

Cheers.

♪♪ JASON BROWN: "3 Church 2 Tavern Town" is a great song.

A friend of mine was a songwriter on it.

♪♪ I remember I was going into the studio to cut it.

And I was like, wait a second.

I live in a three-church, two tavern town.

Bondurant has three churches, two taverns.

♪ Like a concrete island in a sea of corn ♪ ♪ Where dreams die hard and heroes are born ♪ ♪ Out in the middle of our little piece of the heartland ♪ ♪ Bunch of front porch prophets, backwoods apostles gettin' lost in the gossip ♪ ♪ Saved by the gospel ♪ ♪ We all stand on common ground ♪ ♪ In this three church, two tavern town ♪ It's just weird.

I was saying how songs find you.

I'm careful about what I record.

Anything that I recorded has been true or it seems like it comes true.

So I'm very picky about what I record.

♪♪ I don't want to record any negative - or this happened to me and now my life is awful, just in case.

I'm not superstitious, but there is something to it.

♪♪ "Touchdown" is a very close to my heart song.

♪ He was standing on the sideline wearing that tryout uniform ♪ ♪ An old hand me down, double zero worn out jersey, ragged and torn ♪ I just have the utmost respect for our people in the military.

So that song, singing about a small-town Iowa boy, giving up a scholarship for college to serve his country, you're not only sacrificing your life doing that, but he is sacrificing maybe another possibility, another path.

So maybe that's why it resonates so much.

What if I would have went into the military?

I love the structure and organization of it.

And Craig Morgan was a co-writer on it.

And I'm a huge Craig Morgan fan and he let me cut the song.

That song has always been special to me.

♪ He was in the air when the final second ran out ♪ ♪ he could tell that he crossed the goal by the roar of the crowd ♪ ♪ Touchdown in a small town my boy that once wore those double zeros ♪ ♪ They won, job well done ♪ ♪ Lets thank god and hear three cheers for the heroes ♪ ♪ Touchdown in a small town ♪ Since 1936, my family has camped at the Iowa State Fair and have been coming here.

My family sold beer, and I went to every single grandstand event.

Maybe that's why I love music so much.

It really showcases the ag part of Iowa.

It shows the cooking.

There's just so many different things.

My grandma has a plaque that they give an award for.

And now I'm playing at it.

So, yeah, I just love the fair.

I don't want it to be over.

♪ After twelve months overseas fighting in the sand ♪ ♪ The pilot on the intercom said were just about to land ♪ ♪ Touchdown in a small town ♪ ♪ My boy that wore those double zeros ♪ ♪ They won, job well done ♪ ♪ Lets thank god and hear three cheers for the heroes ♪ ♪ Touchdown, touchdown in a small town ♪ ♪ No he can't believe they all think he's a hero ♪ ♪ Touchdown, Touchdown in a small town ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] BILL RILEY: Before we go, take a moment to stroll through the fair grounds as we enjoy another installment of "As If You Were There at the Fair."

♪♪ BILL RILEY: Well, that wraps up our coverage for tonight.

But remember, we'll be back with you tomorrow night and the rest of the week.

In the meantime, we've got state fair fun ready for you whenever you want it.

We're celebrating fairs past and present on our website, and our YouTube channel.

In addition to our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Make sure to check it out.

There are several ways that you can engage with us about our beloved Iowa State Fair any time and anywhere.

Back at the studio, hey, they're already working on tomorrow night's show, and it's going to be a great one.

We'll have the Cowgirl Queen Competition.

We'll meet the folks at the Gas Engine and Tractor Display.

And it wouldn't be the fair without the butter cow.

Hey, everybody, thanks for watching.

We can't wait to see you again tomorrow with more highlights from the amazing, the incredible, the glorious Iowa State Fair right here on Iowa PBS.

Until then, I'm Bill Riley.

Remember, have fun at the fair.

♪♪ Funding for Fair 2022 was brought to you by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation.

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[Iowa Pork Producers] Caring for pigs is not just an individual job.

It truly does take a village to put a safe, healthy pig on your table and keep farming sustainable.