Personally, I think one of the absolute worst things about summer 2020 is the lack of fair food. With almost no fairs or festivals happening, it's pretty difficult to get your hands on ribbon fries, a funnel cake, or deep-fried anything on a stick! The Iowa State Fair, which was officially canceled last month, understands the struggle, and they've decided to do something about it!

According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the Iowa State Fair is hosting not one, but two 'Taste of the Fair' weekends this month. The first weekend is July 24th to July 26th and the second weekend is July 31st to August 2nd. The article says:

"...for those two weekends, 20 Iowa State Fair food vendors will be open in the main midway, Thrill Ville area near the north parking lot off University Avenue at the fairgrounds in Des Moines."

The best part? Both admission and parking are free! The event will be open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (for BOTH weekends).

Below is the list of vendors scheduled to attend one or both weekends of the festival:

  • Applishus
  • Bauder's Ice Cream
  • Campbell Concessions
  • Colonial Nut Roll Co.
  • Completely Nuts, Inc.
  • Dawghouse Concessions
  • Eat It
  • Fyfe Concessions
  • Hall Family Foods Inc.
  • Hardenbrook Concessions
  • Iowa Honey Producers Association
  • Iowa State Fair Cookies
  • Oasis Concessions/Dipped in Chocolate
  • T&A Concessions
  • T N T Concessions/Grater Taters
  • The Greek Garden
  • Turkey Time Concessions Inc.
  • Waffle Chix

For directions, a list of items each vendor will serve, and more information on the event, HERE.

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