What to do at the Wisconsin State Fair

Two weeks ago, I had no idea what to do at the Wisconsin State Fair. Or, I guess, any state fair. I’d never been to one before and only had a vague idea of what to expect: farm animals, carnival rides, and a lot of fried foods (on a stick).

My friends and I were planning a weekend road trip to see the En Vogue / TLC concert, watch the world cheese curd eating championship, and, yes, eat a lot of fried foods (on a stick). But we ended up doing a lot more than we thought we would, like watching a pig race, playing bar trivia, riding across the park on the SkyGlider, and, well, eating a few non-fried foods.

If you’re planning to tick “Go to the Wisconsin State Fair” off your bucket list here are some of the things you should definitely do while there. Because they are all the things I did while I was there. And I had a pretty kick-ass time…

What to do at the Wisconsin State Fair:

Eat everything (on a stick)

Food is a big thing at the Wisconsin State Fair. If you can fry it, put it on a stick, or enhance it with bacon, you will probably find it at one of the many stalls. Every year vendors try to outdo each other, and themselves, with their crazy food creations. Some of the food has gotten so outrageous that the fair now holds the Sporkies: an annual food competition to pick the best and most unique food at the fair. Of this year’s eight finalists, I tried four: Pig Candy Cannoli, French Onion Soup On-a-Stick, Deep-Fried Turducken On-a-Stick, and a S’mores Beer Float.

If weird cuisine isn’t your thing you can find more typical fair food as well: from roasted corn to corn dogs and, of course, deep fried cheese curds.

Corn Dog from 3B Corn Dogs.

Chips & Sprecher Root Beer Salsa – Fresh salsa infused with Sprecher Gourmet Root Beer. At Sprecher Landing and Sprecher Everything.

Root Beer Pop at Sprecher Everything.

Deep-Fried Turducken On-a-Stick. Fresh roast turkey, duck confit & fried chicken breast layered with homemade stuffing and gravy, battered and On-a-Stick. The TurDucken is then drizzled with WSB Amber beer gravy and Wisconsin cranberry sauce. At Water Street Brewery.

Bacon-Wrapped Pork On-a-Stick. Skewered pork loin skewered wrapped with hardwood smoked bacon ad grilled. At Pork Schoppe.

Buttery roasted corn on the cob at New Berlin Lions Club Corn Roast.

Country Fried Bacon On-a-Stick with Country Gravy from Firehouse and cheese curds.

S’mores Beer Float. Point Brewery’s Milkshake Malt Porter beer served with Cedar Crest Chocolate Marshmallow ice cream in a chocolate syrup/graham cracker crumb rimmed glass. At Slim McGinn’s Irish Pub.

Pig Candy Cannoli. 4 slices of candied sweet & smokey beer candy bacon formed into a “cannoli type’ shell. Filled with a cream cheese and mascarpone candied bacon cheesecake filling garnished with candy bacon bits and bacon sea salt. At Brew City Pizza.

French Onion Soup On-a-Stick – Caramelized onions mixed with mozzarella and Swiss cheese rolled into a wonton skin, deep-fried and put on a stick. Served with onion au jus dipping sauce. From Slim’s PBR Park.

Deep fried Snickers Bar.

Check Out the Goats (and Other Animals)

I’m not going to lie: I definitely sized up some baby goats to see if I could smuggle one out in my purse (I mean, my cats need a new friend, right?). If you want to see adorable (and prize winning) farm animals, the Wisconsin State Fair is the place to browse. There are barnyards full of pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens, horses, cows, and goats… (And we all know I love goats.)

You can wander the barns to check out stalls and stalls of cute creatures on display or stick around for a dairy show, horse pull, or livestock auction.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Goats at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Ride the Rides

From the 200-foot giant slide to the 15-story-high WonderFair Wheel ferris wheel to the SpinCity amusement park full of rollercoasters, spinning rides, and funhouses the carnival rides at the Wisconsin State Fair are a great place to get your thrills… or puke up a corndog.

Watch the Pig Races

Sooey! It might be the best ten seconds in all of sports: Saz’s Racing Pigs. Several times a day you can sit back to watch swine versus sow sprint around a track. These porkers are out for the win so pick your favorite and cheer them on!

Take the SkyGlider Across the Park

The best way to get from one end of the fairgrounds to the other is to take the SkyGlider: soaring gondolas that stretch the length of the park for a bird-eye view of the action. It’s a great excuse to rest your feet, get a lay of the land, and get a new perspective to spot those food stall specials you were looking for. Plus it’s not too scary, even if if you’re afraid of heights like I am…

See a Concert on the Main Stage

Every year the Wisconsin State Fair presents a diverse assortment of headliners on their main stage. Performers range from country stars to alternative rock groups to your favorite 90s girl bands. We planned our whole trip around seeing the En Vogue and TLC concert and my pre-teen alter ego couldn’t have been happier. Bonus: a ticket to a main stage show includes admission to the fair so you can get there early and enjoy the whole day.

TLC and En Vogue Concert – see a concert on the Main Stage at the Wisconsin State Fair.

TLC and En Vogue Concert – see a concert on the Main Stage at the Wisconsin State Fair.

TLC and En Vogue Concert – see a concert on the Main Stage at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Head Inside

While many of the attractions, entertainment, and food options are out in the open air, don’t forget to head inside for more (if for nothing else, to cool off in an air conditioned building). Take some time to shop the Exhibition Center and check out some artwork or stop in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion where you can shop for local goods like honey, popcorn, and maple syrup cotton candy and see all the fair meat and dairy fair product winners.

Watch the Cheese Curd Eating Contest

How many cheese curds can you eat in six minutes? Competitive eaters from Wisconsin and around the country converge to see who can consume the most curds in record time at the World Cheese Curd Eating Championship. This year’s winner ate 5 pounds, 2 ounces. Which was about 5 more pounds than I ate at the fair.

Check out the Entertainment

You might be coming to the fair for one of the main stage acts, but definitely come early and check out one of the 30-some other side stages of entertainment. Grab a beer (or a soda in a refillable cup) and sit down to hear a local cover band playing at a makeshift bar, check out a Kids from Wisconsin musical performance, see a Guinness World Record get broken, or play a round of trivia with friends.

Cover band playing at a bar.

Guinness Book Of World Records Fire Eating Attempt By Brant ‘The FireGuy’

Trivia Contest

Eat an Original Cream Puff

While there are plenty of fried foods on a stick to choose from, you can’t leave the Wisconsin State Fair without eating an Original Cream Puff. They are THE thing to eat and have been a fair tradition since 1924. An average of 350,000 are consumed at the fair each year. The light, pillowy, rounds of pastry dough are filled with layers of sweet vanilla whipped cream and topped with powdered sugar. Sit down and grab a few napkins before taking a bite or else you might end up with some filling on your lap.

What to do at the Wisconsin State Fair.

What to eat at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Bucket List: Go to the Wisconsin State Fair.

Bucket List: Eat an Original Cream Puff at the Wisconsin State Fair.

Bucket List: Eat Fried Food on a Stick at the Wisconsin State Fair.