Concrete Statue Contest

 April 20, 2023 

It's been a rainy morning here in Des Moines and the Fair and sunshine are on my mind. Although it seems far away, luckily, we are another day closer to the best 11 days of the year! There is still plenty to do and I'm sure the time will fly by. Finals are approaching and soon all of the interns will be together! 

Each year the Fair brings new and old traditions. One of our favorites here at the Blue Ribbon Foundation is the Concrete Statue Contest. This contest promotes creativity and orginality. Individuals, clubs and companies are encouraged to participate. A new statue design is presented every year and contestants with the best proposal for the design are selected by judges based off of a sketch on their applications. This year's design is a tractor statue. It weighs nearly 150 pounds and is solely concrete. Previous statues over the years have included a barn, a camper, a pig and many other designs. 

Since 2015, the Blue Ribbon Foundation has been partnering with Sticks, an art gallery in Des Moines, to create a fun and unique statue painted by some of areas' most talented artists. We have been fortunate to keep this tradition going with Sticks, and are excited to partner with them again this year. It is always so fun to see what creative ideas they have and to watch them come to life on our statue. 

Statues from the contest will be displayed all throughout the Fairgrounds in different places. Keep an eye out for the tractor statues and see how many you can find! While contestants are welcome to take theirs home after the Fair, you will find ours being auctioned off in the annual Woodcarvers' Auction. This takes place the last Sunday of the Fair. Mark your calendars for this year's, Sunday August 20th. The auction will be held in the John and Emily Putney Cattle Barn's Penningroth Media Center at 3:30 PM. 

As we start to round out another fun and busy week here, I can't help but anticipate the upcoming summer and Fair. So many exciting things are underway and I can't wait to show you more of the things we have been working on. Make sure to keep up with our blogs and remember, one day closer! 

Macy Loecke, Public Relations Intern 

Check out this year's statue and some past statues: