American Gothic - in balloons

My father and I went to the fair on Monday and hit up many of the highlights: the butter cow, the biggest boar, the Avenue of Breeds, a few competitions, and, of course, favorite fair foods. These include pork chops from the Iowa Pork Producer's building, funnel cakes,and Bauder's peppermint ice cream bars. We spent a while watching a horseshoe competition to see how it's properly done, having only just learned how to play properly at the family reunion in New Jersey the previous week.

In past years, a giant sand sculpture, made for the fair anew each time, has occupied the main lobby of the Cultural Center on the fairgrounds. This year, however, there were balloons. I was disappointed until I saw the results - a three-dimensional recreation of American Gothic, complete with eyeglasses, pitchfork, and extra decorate parts, such as a cow and a chicken. A running fan made all the nearly-life-sized figures sway gently as if slightly animated.

Here are a sampling of fair photos, added after the fair parade photos from a week ago Wednesday.