Enjoying the Kansas State Fair from A to Z

The Kansas State Fair is a big place, and the list of things to do and see there is long.

To help you whittle down the experience to 26 pieces of fair fun you simply cannot miss, we offer this guide to the Kansas State Fair from A to Z.

A is for arm wrestling: Been pumping iron since last September? Show the fair what you’ve got at the annual Kansas Arm Wrestling Championships at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Gottschalk Park Gazebo. (Registration begins at noon, and there’s a $10 entry fee.) Haven’t been pumping iron? No worries. It’s always fun to watch, too.

B is for butter sculpture: One of the fair’s most popular attractions is the butter sculpture, and this year’s is a must-see, because longtime artist Sharon BuMann is retiring from the Kansas State Fair after 15 years. Next year, a new sculptor from Iowa will take her place. We won’t know what BuMann has sculpted for her final butter masterpiece until it’s revealed at 11 a.m. on Friday. Find the sculpture in the Pride of Kansas Building.

C is for chess: Chess will be a fair attraction on Thursday. Hutchinson Community College’s Chess Club is inviting players to watch as Gabriel Purdy, one of the highest-ranked chess players in the state, plays against 50 challengers simultaneously. The matches will start at 11 a.m. in the Capper Building. Also, from 2 to 4 p.m. that day, people can play in a blitz tournament on a giant chess set. The top eight finishers will earn prizes. It’s free to play, but the club asks people to pre-register for both events by calling Kay at 620-665-3359 or e-mail schmidtd@hutchcc.edu.

D is for deep fried: The theme of the fair this year is “Fried N’ Joy,” and the grounds will be filled with plenty of deep-fried deliciousness. Among the new fried offerings are a Cap’n Crunch corndog, a deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Oreo churros, pumpkin spice funnel cakes, mini-doughnuts and jalapeno Twinkies.

E is for Ejection Seat: The fair is famous for bringing in one high-flying, daredevil ride that only the bravest (craziest) fairgoers attempt. This year it’s the Ejection Seat, which has been at the fair before. It puts riders in a seat attached on each side to a pole by bungee cords. The seat is let go, and it and its human contents are launched 100 feet into the air, spinning all the way.

F is for facial hair: Beware, those who attend the fair on Saturday. You may find yourself surrounded by bushy, hairy faces. The fair is putting on its first mustache and beard contest at 1 p.m. that day.

G is for Go Karts: Fairgoers who go exploring the area north of the midway won’t find helicopter rides this year. But they will find a Go Kart track where rides will cost $5. Also, in the same area, people can try platform jumps, where they fall off a 20-foot ledge onto an inflated mat, just like a stuntman on a movie set. Jumps will cost $7 apiece or $15 for three.

H is for hot tubs: It’s a bubbling, chlorine-scented tradition: Hot tub vendors crowd the commercial exhibit areas with all the best hot tubs they have to offer. And people actually buy them at the fair, officials say. This year, the hot tubs can be found inside and outside the Meadowlark Building and under the grandstand.

I is for Instep: This rock-and-roll band is one of the Kansas State Fair’s oldest friends. It performs on free stages every year, and its name is always all over the schedule. The group, which is Hutchinson-based, refers to itself as the unofficial band of the Kansas State Fair, and it performs covers of classic rock, pop, country and disco hits. The band performs on the Nex-Tech Wireless Stage at Lake Talbott and at the Bretz & Young Arena and the Gottshaclk Park Gazebo several times a day most days of the fair.

J is for Jaffles: For more than 35 years, Jaffle sandwiches have been the Kansas State Fair treat everyone wants but few can actually describe. For the record, a Jaffle is a grilled, round sandwich stuffed with pizza fillings including pepperoni, ham, mozzarella and pizza sauce. Jaffles are available at 309 Grandstand Ave.

K is for Kansas Kids Got Talent: Every aspiring Taylor Swift has to get started somewhere. Talented kids are invited to show what they’ve got at this event, being put on for the second year at the fair. The participants, who are ages 4 to 17, have already been selected to compete for the title of the Kansas State Fair’s Most Talented Kid. Twenty kids in the 4-to-11-year-old category will compete at 4 p.m. Friday, and 20 in the age-12-to-17 category will perform at 4 p.m. Sept. 18. The top five from each group will move on to the final, which happens at 2 p.m. Sept. 20, the fair’s final day. All performances will happen in the Hansen Auditorium in the Encampment Building.

L is for Legos: Everything is awesome for Lego fans at this year’s fair. On Sept. 19, fairgoers can watch pre-registered builders compete in a Lego Bricks-building contest starting at 9 a.m. in the Oz Gallery. Contestants will compete in three groups: ages 7 to 9, 10 to 12 and family teams of three. Later that night, fairgoers will be invited to gather at the Nex-Tech Wireless Stage at Lake Talbott to watch “The Lego Movie” under the stars. The movie starts at 8 p.m.

M is for Moonlight Madness: Fairgoers who can’t get enough of all the spinning, twirling, scream-inducing carnival rides on the Midway can ride as much as they want when they purchase $25 wristbands during three different promotions. Moonlight Madness is from 3 to 11 p.m. Friday and noon to 11 p.m. Sept. 18. Ride-O-Rama is 1 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, noon to 10 p.m. Wednesday and 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday. Last Blast Sunday is noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 20.

N is for newborns: The Kansas State Fair’s Birthing Center, which is at 20th Avenue and Fort Scott Boulevard, is always one of the fair’s top attractions, especially with kids. Those who visit can get an up-close look at baby piglets, just-born goats and brand-new sheep. If they visit at the right time, they might even see a cow in the process of birthing a calf. It opens at 11 a.m. Friday and after that is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the fair. The center is put on by Kansas State University and is staffed by veterinary students willing to answer questions and chat with visitors.

O is for Old Mill: Ye Old Mill is turning 100 this year, and its owners are celebrating by offering two-for-one rides from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The owners also have revamped and repainted the interior and hired a local artist to paint a scary mural in the waiting area. Ye Old Mill takes riders on a quarter-mile boat ride in pitch blackness that’s interrupted only by the sudden appearance of animatronic goblins, dragons and ghouls. By the end of each fair, around 36,000 people have ridden Ye Old Mill at $3 a pop.

P is for poultry: And B is for banned. In June, the Kansas Department of Agriculture issued an order banning poultry shows and events in the state for the rest of the year, an attempt to guard against an outbreak of avian flu. That means the poultry barn will be void of the roosters, hens, chickens, doves and geese that usually fill it. It also means no chicks in the birthing barn, no dove releases by magicians and no hilarious yet informative “give a chicken a bath” demonstrations by longtime chicken bather Bob Briggs. Fair organizers aren’t going to leave the poultry barn empty, though. It will feature several educational exhibits about fowl in the barn and in the birthing center. And some 4-H exhibitors will be able to have their birds judged via video.

Q is for quarter horse show: The big day at the fair for horse lovers is Sunday, when the Kansas Quarter Horse Association puts on its annual quarter horse show, scheduled to start in the Expo Center at 8 a.m. Competitors will be judged in a long list of categories, including reining, ranch riding and showmanship.

R is for Rock-It the Robot: Rock-It the Robot, who last visited the fair in 2013, will make a return. He’s a 9-foot. 3-inch modern-looking robot who roams the grounds talking to people and who had a legion of little boys following him everywhere he went two years ago. Pogo Fred, a street performer who does flips and other stunts on a pogo stick, also will be there, as will favorite roaming acts like Oscar the Robot and the stilt walker.

S is for Sam Hunt: The best-selling concert in this year’s grandstand lineup so far is Sam Hunt, an up-and-coming country singer who will be performing with Old Dominion on Sunday. Hunt, a former college football player who has scored radio hits with his songs “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time” and “House Party,” has the strongest ticket sales so far, followed by Little Big Town on Sept. 19 and comedian Gabriel Iglesias on Sept. 18. Other grandstand acts include Three Days Grace on Friday, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts on Saturday, the Oak Ridge Boys on Tuesday, Newsboys on Wednesday and Hairball on Thursday. Concert tickets are available at kansasstatefair.tix.com or by calling 800-362-3247.

T is for tigers: The fair always stations a different act each year in Gottschalk Park. This year, it’s Bruno’s Tiger Show, performed by third-generation, Florida-based tiger trainer Brunon Blaszak. The show, which features Siberian and royal Bengal tigers in a ring doing tricks, will be put on each day at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

U is for unbelievably out of it: Another longtime friend of the Kansas State Fair is comic hypnotist Ron Diamond, who’s been putting fairgoers to sleep since 2004. During his hilarious show, he invites fairgoers onto the stage, hypnotizes them and persuades them to do all sorts of silly, embarrassing things. Diamond’s shows happen several times each day at the Bretz & Young Arena. Check the schedule for exact times.

V is for vendors: The Kansas State Fair is a shopper’s paradise because it’s filled with commercial vendors selling bamboo sheets, ring-cleaning solutions, knives, choppers, Vitamix blenders and more. The four locations for shopping: the Sunflower North Building, the Sunflower South Building, the Meadowlark Building and underneath the grandstand.

W is for wood carver: Another annual attraction at the fair is a daily wood-carving demonstration by an artist whose tool is a chainsaw. The artist, Gary Keenan, will put on his demonstrations each day at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. just north of Lake Talbott. His carvings will be auctioned at 4 p.m. Sept. 19 at Bretz & Young Arena.

X is for xylophone: Each year, the Kansas State Fair invites middle- and high-school marching bands to perform on the fairgrounds, and one of them is bound to have a xylophone player. Last year, 96 bands participated. The bands are able to get feedback from judges as well. Bands march and perform on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the fair.

Y is for Year of the Ride: Last year, the little white house next to the Domestic Arts Building was opened as the Kansas State Fair museum. The first exhibit was dedicated to Bardo the Clown. This year, the exhibit title is “Year of the Ride,” and it will include an original Ye Old Mill boat, vintage photos and the history of the carousel horse. Admission to the museum is free.

Z is for Zombie Paintball: The same area north of the Midway that will be home to the Go Karts and stunt jump will feature another new attraction: Zombie Paintball. Participants will be given the opportunity and colorful ammunition to save the world from a zombie apocalypse. A round costs $10 to $15.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Enjoying the Kansas State Fair from A to Z."