The State Fair is quintessential Wisconsin summer: sunshine, fried delights, cold beer, good music, staring into the soulful and strangely wise eyes of a cow and questioning what purpose guides your life in this strange and vast world. It’s pretty much got it all.
Before this year’s fair kicks off on July 31, the folks behind the annual event hosted a little preview exclusively for the coolest and most suave in Milwaukee. So of course I was there. (I kid, I kid. The preview was for State Fair sponsors and the media. Although I do think my cool/suave factor has really magnified since I bought my new cargo shorts.)
The State Fair showed off food, drinks, merch and more at the preview. Here’s what I learned:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
1. The New Dairy Building is Looking Fresh
The big change at this year’s State Fair is The Dairy Building, formerly known as the Original Cream Puff Pavilion. The new name is actually an old one, the space’s original back in the State Fair’s infancy. The moniker returns after an 11-month renovation to the building which has long housed the most beloved of the State Fair’s foods. This was my first chance to see inside now that the remodel is complete, and I can report that The Dairy Building looks pretty slick. Tinted overhead windows let in plenty of natural light, and it all feels very open and airy. Signs tout Wisconsin’s agricultural industry and history. And everything still has that fresh new shine (although that’ll probably last about five minutes into the fair, when kids start dropping cream puffs).
2. The Celebration Strawberry Cream Puff Tastes Like Celebration
I’m born-and-bred Wisconsinite so the first thing I always do whenever I walk into any event is check if there’s beer. There was no beer at the State Fair. So I moved onto the second thing I always do, which is search for dairy products – and there I had more luck. Of course, the star was the cream puff, a treat so fundamental to the State Fair that they capitalize Cream Puff in every press release. This year, the fair is serving original and chocolate puffs, along with a new flavor called Celebration Strawberry. I had to sample one, obviously, and by sample I mean I ate the whole thing like a ravenous grizzly bear. The pink, sprinkle-strewn cream puff filling has a light hint of strawberry to it, a suggestion of strawberry you might say, almost kind of cotton candy-esque. But I have to admit that I am definitely more of an original flavor puff fan.
What’s the titular “Celebration,” marking this cream puff, you ask? Twenty years of UScellular sponsoring the State Fair. I can’t say I normally get too jazzed about the longevity of corporate sponsorships, but hey if they want to give me a cream puff, fine by me!
3. We Only Have 12 Days Until the State Fair
While I was stuffing my face with a Celebration Cream Puff, State Fair CEO Shari Black took to the stage to speak to the crowd. “Make sure you’re ready to come back when we open the gates in 12 short – very, very short days,” she said. First off, as a 5’8’’ man, I have an unpleasant sort of gag reflex when I hear “very, very short” in any context. I had to resist the instinctive urge to cry out “Stop making fun of me!” But when that passed, I realized what she was saying. As of Friday, July 18, we only have 12 days until the State Fair kicks off. It’s exciting, but man the summer is flying alarmingly fast. It’s almost August. Soon it’ll be September. Then winter will eat our souls once again. And the years will tire on to the relentless drumbeat of Father Time, counting what few minutes we have left. Anyway – I’m looking forward to more cream puffs!
4. The State Fair Has 100 New Food Options
When it comes to food, the State Fair is not subtle. In fact, it is almost comically maximalist. You will always find something unusual and alarming on the menu, and of course this year is no different. The fair is rolling out 100 wild new foods, along with the annual Sporkies and Drinkies contestants. There’s the Alligator Cajun Mac & Cheese Sundae, the A Hunk A Hunk Fat Elvis Donut Ice Cream Sandwich, the Iced Larvae Latte, the Hot Honey Jalapeño Popper Donut. I could go on. Frankly, I don’t see how any human being could possibly try everything new in the fair’s 11 days without suffering significant distress, both physical and likely emotional. But you can certainly try! This link here lists every new food.
Fair warning, the Bavarian Cream Bug Donut is one of the most repulsive things I’ve ever seen. (Editor’s Note: That’s quite a statement coming from Archer, a man who once ate imitation crab out of a vending machine.)
5. Aug. 5 Is the Day to Eat Excessively
If you looked at that list of new foods and found your mouth watering, Crazy Grazin’ Day might just be the day for you. On that Tuesday, a bunch of vendors across the fair are discounting their food. Here’s a list of what will be on sale.
6. There Is Still Wonder In This World
Spaghetti and meatballs on a stick. You thought it couldn’t be done. Wrong! Leadfoot’s Race Bar and Grill will be serving just that at this year’s fair. Behold this testament to the ingenuity of the human spirit:
7. Don’t Drink the Smoothies Too Fast
When I was just a young lad, I developed a weakness for smoothies. I’m not sure what it is about the fruity treats, but I struggle to control myself around a good one. I say this to justify how I ended up with a brain freeze so bad I had to close my eyes and count to ten at the State Fair preview. Should I have chugged the strawberry smoothie from Caribbean Smoothees like it was post-marathon Gatorade? No. Do I regret it? Not at all.
8. The Retro Merch Is Cool and Mannequins Are Frightening
The State Fair lined up a pretty cool array of clothing at this event. Personally, I’m a fan of the retro-looking T-shirt below with the barn and the rainbow – although I’d most likely buy the full-size version that reveals a little less midriff than this mannequin is showing off. I’m very tasteful with my midriff exposure, I swear.
Also, the headless mannequin in the picture below worried me. I’m not entirely sure why. Something to do with its posture. It looks like it’s tensing for action, like it’s watching and waiting through eyes we cannot see. What does it know? What will it do when our backs are turned?
9. Ne-Yo Has a Big Hat
Damn, Ne-Yo. That is a significant cap. Is it comfortable? Feels like it would be kind of precarious up there, considering scope of hat vs. circumference of forehead. But I’m not a platinum-selling, Grammy-winning artist so honestly, my opinion is pretty meaningless here. The real question is will Ne-Yo wear this gigantic hat when he performs on Aug. 2? If not, I will be disappointed.
10. Wisconsinites Remain Polite Even in the Face of Charcoots
Leff’s Miller Lite Sports Bar & Grill had a big ol’ catering setup showing off some of the foods they’ll be serving at the fair. There were meatballs and Italian sausage and shrimp and chips and charcuteries (or charcoots, as my people call them). For what felt like quite a while at the start of the event, I watched everyone glancing at the food, seemingly unwilling to be the first person to grab some. Despite my rumbling stomach, I too did not want to seem greedy, grubbing after the delicious charcoots. But thank God, eventually someone went for it and a big ol’ line formed, and I sampled many a tasty treat from Leff’s.
11. Be Cautious When Biting Into a Buffalo Chicken Rangoon From Leff’s or You Might Spurt the Sauce all Over The Place in Front of Important Business People and Fellow Media Professionals
This is purely hypothetical of course.
12. Kidz Bop Released a ‘Pink Pony Club’ Cover
If you look back at the list of Main Stage performers in the photo above, just beneath Ne-Yo’s gargantuan hat, you’ll notice that Kidz Bop is performing at the fair on Aug. 5. I admit I was unaware that the family-friendly cover group has still been cranking out music, and so I went down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to the latest Kids Bop bangers. Let me tell you they are still cranking out those clean versions of pop hits—“360,” “Espresso,” “Pink Pony Club.” Who knew? Not me.
13. The State Fair Got the Good Bruschetta, the Thoughtful Bruschetta
I love me some bruschetta. It enlivens the saucy Italian blood in my veins. But I hate when you go to take a bite and all the stuff falls off the bread. It’s infuriating and despair-inducing, and thankfully the State Fair Bruschetta that I tried from Leff’s did not do this. In fact, it all stayed beautifully atop the bread in a neat, orderly fashion that I very much appreciated. Shoutout the good bruschetta.
14. I Appreciate the State Fair Staff
Shoutout to the guy that waved me to the right parking area on my way in, when I very nearly drove to the complete wrong end of the fairgrounds because I’m a little bit stupid. You are one of many dedicated workers that I appreciate for making this all happen! There were a bunch of staff at the preview event, of course, and they all were helpful and pleasant, and I think we should all show them some appreciation as we’re enjoying the State Fair in just 12 (very, very short) days.
