Iowa State Fair launches first-ever farmers market this year

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Fair may be known for its fried foods, but this year there are some fresher options available with their new All-Iowa Fair View Farmers Market.

A spokesperson for the Iowa State Fair said it will start small the first year, with a total of five vendors. Each vendor will be able to choose which days they will be at the fair. All vendors will be set up outside Grandfather’s Barn.

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One of the vendors is Holton Homestead. They are beekeepers from Elkhart, Iowa. They have 800 hives and produce over 20 different types of honey, including hot honey, cinnamon cream honey, chocolate cream honey and more.

The Holton Homestead will be at the market on August 16th and 17th.

“It’s great that it’s happening because that’s what the Iowa State Fair is about: agriculture, ranching, locally made products, sourced goods, all those things that I think are important. So, to be able to go there and find those items is really exciting,” said Sara Holton, the owner.

She also said the fair offers small businesses the opportunity to participate in the fair and gain exposure to other Iowa residents.

“That’s something that’s exciting for us because usually it’s very expensive to be a part of the show. You have to rent a whole booth, they want a section, it costs thousands of dollars to be there. So this was really nice because we could choose when we wanted to be there, and it’s a very reasonable price,” she said.

The other vendors at the market are:

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