I had agreed to volunteer a couple of hours at the state Democratic Party booth at the Iowa State Fair. I hadn’t attended the fair since my first visit with my host daughter in 2009, so this seemed a great excuse to make a final trip before I head back East.
Considering that I was Des Moines on Sunday, August 13, at a site that has drawn more than one million visitors during the 11-day annual event, I was lucky my handicap decal got me so close to one of the gates. Still, it’s a big site with lots of walking, and I decided not to spend the $70 to rent a motorized scooter for the day so my progress was slow. Coincidentally, I was close to the building where the famous butter cow was on display with Iowa sports figures Jack Trice, Kurt Warner and Caitlin Clark.
I walked slowly with many stops to rest and to eat, and to crowd-watch, but I eventually made it to the building where I worked, then settled for a while in front of the grandstand.
Of course, I had to sample various food along the way, funnel cake, lemonade, bacon-wrapped rib on a stick, and corn dog. I’m afraid the volunteer assignment didn’t go as well as I hope, though– fortunately–a number of folks stopped by the party’s display while I was there. There is no major Democratic candidate running against President Biden in 2024, so most of the activity is issue-driven. In Iowa, however, more voters seem to be driven in the opposite direction.
I wore myself out by the time I made one last food stop, and my hip was threatening to go into full revolt. Thankfully, a police officer rode by in one of the carts that shuttled folks around. He kindly rode me all the way back to my car. Before I could leave, I noticed the presence of a rainbow in the skies directly over the fair entrance. This led to a whole new set of pictures, a few of which are below:
The whole set from the day is available at http://singin1.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/iowa-state-fair-081323
