So much fun this year! Made a few new friends! All the different foods & activities. Saw so many…read moreinteresting performances. Enjoyed the empanadas and quesadilla and yucca balls and jewelry. Such great flavors of food and delicious drinks. It was definitely a few blocks bigger last year but this year did not disappoint. Saturday night music was fantastic. Lotta very nice personable vendors with great merchandise and lovely stories to tell. Will continue going regularly.

Free entry to this great event is a huge plus. I love the wide variety of vendors, food and…read morebeverage options available, which really is a huge part of what this event is about. All the vendor have a "taste" option on the menu for $2 (they have predetermined what that item is). I think it makes exploring a variety of things easier to do without crushing your budget or completely over eating. They also have a variety of local and international beers for sale and free live music. Fun family-friendly event!

This festival is so well run... the community bands together to pull this off. The serve amazing…read moreDeardorf sweet corn. It is all free and you can have as much as you want... I saw people eating upwards of 8 ears a person. I thought that I needed two ears but I could only finish just one... I felt terrible that I took one I could not eat. We got there early so we only had a block and a half waiting line. It moved so quickly. We were through it in less than 10 minutes. By the time we left the line was in excess of 3 or more blocks long. They also had a parade, 5k run and a large craft fair. If corn is not your thing they had a plethora of food and beverage vendors too. In the evening the have bands and a beer garden. There were thousands of people, kids and dogs but it really did not feel like it. Attendees were very respectful. If you are looking for a fun day in August I'd is worth the drive to this small community. This large event is 100% volunteer run! Very impressive!

What a spectacular State Fair. We went for 3 days and didn't get to see everything but the 2026…read morefair was especially memorable with the celebration of America's 250th anniversary, adding patriotic displays, special exhibits, and events throughout the grounds. If you've never experienced the Iowa State Fair, put it on your bucket list! Come hungry, wear comfortable shoes, plan to spend plenty of time exploring--and be prepared to have a fantastic time. Nothing compares to the Iowa State Fair!

First time at the Iowa State Fair! As a typical Minnesota State Fair goer, I was trying to keep my…read moreexpectations low. Overall, I had a great day and a ton of fun!! Definitely bring a reusable water and a handheld fan. It's hot. I loved that there were so many places to refill our water bottles. We got there via the free parking ramp in Des Moines on Center and 7th then took the $3 round trip DART bus which worked like a charm. Super easy to navigate. We were dropped off at Gate 10 then worked counterclockwise around the fair. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was how many golf carts/cars would be on the roads at the fair. I kept feeling like I was going to get hit. My favorite food by far was the hot beef sundae ($10) from Cattleman's Beef Quarters. Can't go wrong with hot beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cheese. We got a delicious donut ($5) outside the swine barn then saw the biggest pig I've ever seen in my life -- 1,296 lbs! We saw a sheep sheering contest in the sheep barn, then wandered around the fair up to the agriculture building for a (FREE) hard boiled egg on a stick and the butter cow. We cooled off in the Culture Center and saw the amazing photography and fine art submissions. They have nice bathrooms in that building. Then we got the deep fried pb&j ($10 each, grape was better than strawberry) which were another favorite of the day. One of my other food highlights were the cheese curds from Brad and Harry's ($8). Same vibe as the mouth trap cheese curds in MN. Delicious and a fair food staple. Some foods that did not wow me: The corn brats ($8) which are like corn dogs but with brats instead of hotdogs. My hopes for these were too high. They were fine. Nothing beats a pronto pup. The Minneapple Pie ($14). Everyone in Iowa was raving about it. It was fine, not worth the money in my opinion. Barksdale's cup of cookies ($5). Not good. Would not get again.

The epicenter of porcine bliss is truly the BRBF! 2012's festival boasted 4700+ visitors, 20+…read morerestaurants, 9 beers, two breweries and 10 bacon exhibitors. Bacon shirts were the norm and you discover the brilliance that is the combination of libation and dry cured magic. The building at the fairgrounds is a great location with plenty of vendor space around the periphery and mingling space in the middle. Three lecture rooms hosted talks ranging from how to make your own bacon to how bacon will help you survive the apocalypse. Helpful stuff! Unlimited samples of bacon and bacon themed entrees, bacon shirts, koozies, bacon eating contests and live music await you when you come across this glimpse of heaven! This festival is a must try for those who appreciate any and everything bacon. Great samples of meat, local fare and tons of new pork loving friends! Worth the trip every time!

Winning a raffle for a 1day pass GA+ for 2 ppl and a GA parking pass was well worth the 4hr road…read moretrip adventure! The headliner on the day B and I went was Mumford and Sons. We got to the festival around 6pm. Walked the grounds to get a feel. Found the GA+ section, sat down, relaxed after getting some merch. Went to the restroom and I gotta say. GA+ had good men's bathrooms. Per B "they are like campground bathrooms instead of a port-a potty. And more importantly, they are air-conditioned." Who wouldn't want that in 80 degree weather. We got some mini donuts from Hoppers. Delicious and lighter compared to 'Tom Thumbs donuts(MN state fair anyone?!) I still prefer Tom Thumbs, but also enjoyed these. Found a bubblr station and tried them for the first time for free. The mixed berry was yummy! Then went on to get a THC 'climbing kite' beverage. Another tasty treat. They also let us sit in their chairs for a while. We drank and listened to Jessie Murph. As we headed back to the GA+ area we stopped at a stand and got a strawberry lemonade. It was a refreshing drink. We'd get it again. Maybe try the mango lemonade one as well. The walk back to the car was easy enough. There was one section of the walk right outside the security checkpoint that is gravelly. Kind of wished they'd clean that up a bit. Walking in and walking out, there were plenty of big rocks that if you weren't paying attention, you could easily trip or sprain your ankle. Especially on the walk back, the lights along the path are lacking. We would definitely do this again, if there is an artist we want to see enough. Now back to our hotel for the night before our 4hr adventure ends.

Everyone working the event was awesome! The grounds are huge. I think the food and bathrooms could…read morebe arranged in a way that isn't such a far walk. Everything was really spread out. Great sound and awesome lineup

The 80/35 Festival is a pretty fun music event in Des Moines. It usually lasts about 2 days, with…read moreseveral stages of artists to check out. The only negatives of the festival are that it's usually the first week of July, which means that it's both HOT and also that sometimes it falls on /around July 4th, which I would avoid if I was the planner of this festival. When we have been, we saw some pretty big names like Wilco, Weezer, Jenny Lewis, and Run the Jewels (before RTJ were gigantically popular). Other artists who've played 80/35 over the years are The Shins, MGMT, The Decemberists, Phoebe Bridgers, and Kesha, to give you an idea. So you can definitely depend on there being at least one or two acts at 80/35 that you will be interested in (or maybe you'll find a new favorite). If you're a fan of bigger acts as well as local or smaller artists to check out, 80/35 might be a good fit for you. Just bring lots of water to hydrate and stay cool!

Another 5 star year at the 8035 Music Festival! Beautiful…read moreweather, beautiful location in down town DSM! This year there were 4 FREE stages open to anyone! And the the mainstage's sound was the loudest and proudest I have ever seen! I really dug seeing Car Seat Headrest, Courtney Barnett, and I even dug Kesha - her show ruled! All the stuff I saw on the free stages were really great this year too! This was also the first year I spent a lot of time in the KIDS Zone and it was really fun with jumping blow ups, water guns, hoola hoops, and face painting! So many cool art sculptures, and music to be had! Always the best weekend in DSM of the year!

Oktoberfest is a great weekend in Des Moines, I recommend everyone should go have some fun and…read morepreferably dress up for it! Dressing for the occasion really makes it more fun. For a festival that is mostly about drinking the crowd is always nice and not too rowdy. Many men and women are happy to teach you to polka or even grab a stranger to share a boot of bier with. They always have great entertainment with live polka bands and several very entertaining contests for those in proper attire, such as the bier maiden competition. The limited food for venders outside Hessen Haus is always good, and the pastries from strudl Haus are always amazing. There are two things I think they need to improve on at this event. The first being they don't have many or even any sour biers most years. The second being they need more food vendors and variety. There is more to German food than just pretzels and brats. If they improved on these two items hands down this would be a five star review.

Love Des Moines Oktoberfest!! It's only 2 days long but I don't think I can handle much more. My…read morefavorite event is the tapping of he Golden Keg -- it's worth taking off work for!! Obviously the beer is the highlight of this event and there is plenty. Polka all day and night -- if you haven't tried to dance Polka it's easy! Just try!! Lots of friendly dancers will help you learn if you just step out and start trying. The rest of Oktoberfest is a blur -- but if I remembered it all it wouldn't be worth attending. Friendly people, great bier - eins, zwei, drei, gsuffa!!!

Not my first time coming to the festival but it is always a fun time filled with culture, music,…read moreand amazing food!!! This festival usually is in July near the sculpture gardens and there is always a huge stage set up with live music. There is plenty of parking in the area! And plenty of ATM's as most vendors do not take cards. And at least this year if you came in before 5pm you could get in free. Otherwise the cost of admission is only a few dollars! This is one of the multiple wonderful cultural festivals in Des Moines! Can't wait to go back next year!

What a great even they have here every year. Event staff were all friendly & welcoming. Vendor…read morestands galore with various Greek themed items and handmade items as well. Tried the frappe & loved it. My partner had a tiny Greek coffee. We shared a gyro which was really delicious. And the Greek salad I had was better than I'm used to. The light & squeezey I didn't like but I loved the Mythos. Visited the church as well & wandered around just looking at everything to offer. Definitely recommend.

Fun times! Great food, drink and dance/music here this weekend. Friendly staff. Prices are up…read morethere, but this is a fun event that you only get once a year. Try the flaming cheese(really good) or the gyros or Serbian food or desserts! Very family friendly. Clean. Fun. Street parking. Marcy'sDinerTantrumScale 5/5-no screaming kids.