Kalona represented at the Iowa State Fair with talent show contestant, information booth, quilt raffle

By Emily Marner
Posted 8/17/21

The Iowa State Fair began on Thursday, August 12, and will continue until Sunday, August 22. The State Fair has been regarded as the oldest and largest expositions in the country.

Hundreds of …

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Kalona represented at the Iowa State Fair with talent show contestant, information booth, quilt raffle

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The Iowa State Fair began on Thursday, August 12, and will continue until Sunday, August 22. The State Fair has been regarded as the oldest and largest expositions in the country.

Hundreds of student participants from across the state are chosen to come present their livestock or 4-H projects. Some of those students come from Washington County, bringing their award-winning livestock projects to be celebrated further for their advancements.

Each day at the State Fair is a new one, there are performers from across the country that come to wow the fair’s visitors. Blanco Brown, a singer-songwriter from New York enchanted the audience with his take on country rap.

“I love country music so much and I’m used to the more classic kind of country music, but maybe I can get used to this rapping stuff,” an audience member gushed about the performance.

Aside from more well-known singers performing at the State Fair, there is the Bill Riley Talent Show. Dancers, singers, and more all come from smaller talent shows to reach for gold. Mid-Prairie’s own Avery Slaubaugh will be singing a musical theatre piece from The Addams Family, titled “Pulled”. She won the honor of performing at the State Fair after being selected at the Washington County Fair talent show. Slaubaugh will perform her song on Wednesday, August 18.

Another Washington County-local attraction is the Kalona booth. The Kalona Chamber of Commerce has a small section in the Varied Industries Building. Despite the tiny quarters, the booth was jam-packed with all of what makes Kalona, Kalona. From Best of Iowa’s spectacular cupcakes to Kalona Chocolate’s mass variety of delectable treats, wanderers from the fair stopped by to get a taste of this small town’s intrigue.

“I was walking around looking for something that caught my eye and and I spotted this beautiful quilt hanging up. I grabbed my husband and we rushed over here and, gosh there was so much to look at. I don’t even want to look at my receipt with how much I bought!” exclaimed a customer at the Kalona Booth.

The Chamber of Commerce is holding a raffle at the State Fair for a quilt, a staple of Kalona’s local culture. At the end of the week, one person will be awarded the quilt.

After a long day at the State Fair, one can rest their legs and take in the extensive view of the area by the “Skyline”. It takes visitors up above the fair to get a good look at where they have been walking around all day. The glorious view of the many amusement park attractions to the wafting smell of the countless food vendors is a reward for such an encapsulating event.