Choose Iowa at the 2025 Iowa State Fair
Choose Iowa Favorite Fair Food Contest
Vendors! Enter to compete to be the Choose Iowa Favorite Fair Food. Please submit a food item made with Iowa ingredients available for sale at the Fair for inclusion in the contest. Entries will be featured on a map of Iowa Fair Foods and highlighted in the Iowa State Fair App. Fairgoers can vote for their favorite entry until Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 11:59 p.m. The winning Choose Iowa Favorite Fair Food will be awarded on Friday, August 15 at 1 p.m. when the ISF's Best New Food is also announced.
The Choose Iowa Fair Food Contest celebrates fair food menu items made using ingredients sourced from Iowa! Fairgoers will be invited to vote for their favorite fair food featuring Iowa ingredients during the Iowa State Fair until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13. The food stand with the winning Choose Iowa Favorite Fair Food will be recognized on August 15 when the Iowa State Fair’s Best New Food is announced. Approximately 10 percent of the food stands at the Iowa State Fair submitted entries. A map showing all the food locations featuring Iowa ingredients will be posted on the Iowa State Fair website and mobile app.
The Kitchen: Choose Iowa Presents...
In The Kitchen, Choose Iowa is curating the 1 p.m. presentation every day featuring Iowa ingredients and chefs Choose Iowa will present cooking demonstrations and food presentations daily at 1 p.m. in The Kitchen inside the Maytag Family Theatre Building. The Maytag Family Theatre Building is located on the Grand Concourse between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) building and the Barksdale Cookies building. Over the 11 days, the line-up will feature Choose Iowa members as well as Iowa culinary professionals. Find the whole lineup for The Kitchen on the Choose Iowa Facebook page.
Coloring Calendar Awards Ceremony
Some of the most talented student artists in Iowa will be honored for their artwork’s inclusion in the Choose Iowa Coloring Calendar in a ceremony to be held Tuesday, August 12 at 10 a.m. on the stage in the Agriculture Building. If you are looking to pick up your own calendar copy, stop by the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s booth in the Agriculture Building while quantities last.
Choose Iowa in the Agriculture Building
When you stop in the Agriculture Building to see the world-famous butter cow or to get your egg on a stick, look for the Choose Iowa banners in the center of the building. Fairgoers can visit a photo booth and get a free “Picture Yourself in Iowa Agriculture” photo after selecting from numerous fun ag backgrounds. There will also be information banners about Iowa agriculture with fun facts about commodities and products produced in Iowa. Fairgoers can also pick up a free commemorative Choose Iowa cup and a free Choose Iowa Coloring Calendar while supplies last.
Choose Iowa on Tap
Try out the new Yield of Dreams corn lager at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. The beer represents a partnership between Choose Iowa, Iowa Corn, the Iowa Brewers Guild, Confluence Brewing Company, and Confluence Distribution.