It's State Fair Time

Wisconsin State Fair. 8/2/25 dwm.

Yesterday we went to the Wisconsin State Fair. There were a couple new things waiting for us: a new version of the Dairy Building and new hours.

I knew about the new hours for the buildings on the grounds, the exhibits, and displays but in all my trips to State Fair we always arrived before most of the exhibits opened.

We parked the car, presented our tickets at the gate and walked up the ramp. Most of the time the information booths were open, so we picked up a program then waited for the Horticulture Building to open.

It was the first building to open for visitors. After we walked through the displays, we visited the Department of Natural Resources park, and after we finished that the Cream Puff Pavilion was open so we walked in for a mid-morning treat.

This year all the buildings opened at 10am and it was when our gate opened. There was a long line from the gate as we approached, we found the end of the line and waited. It was 10:17 when we walked under that red banner you see in the photo in the upper left corner.

The middle of the long line. 8225 dwm

There was no real harm to us by walking in later than was customary, it just left things up for grabs in terms of what building we visited first.

We didn't break tradition there, opening the doors to the horticulture building where we walked past the displays of various entries. The fair program refers to this as Champions Hall - as photographs, prepared food, vegetables, quilts, and flowers are on display and the winners of ribbons recognized.

Then we visited the brand new Dairy Building. Home to Cream Puff production using delicious cream between two puffed pastry shells.

The Dairy Building a/k/a Cream Puff city. dwm

The Dairy Building sits on the same footprint as the previous building, which had already changed once in my lifetime. When I first went to the fair with my folks, there was another building attached to the Dairy Building on the west which housed exhibits and booths. The one I remember was a pancake restaurant with a serpentine counter where people could eat.

The first thing you notice is all the natural light that shines in through the windows. The interior is clean and modern with a large kitchen for baking and finishing the cream puffs with powdered sugar.

There are several vendors at the south end of the building and a display explaining how the cream gets to the puffs. On the practical side, new construction meant new bathrooms, the old building didn't have as many facilities and they can't match the new equipment.

Slicing the puffs. 8/2/25 dwm

The new kitchen can produce more cream puffs than the old, up to 400,000 over the course of the fair. Mine was made with chocolate cream.

Then we walked through Exploratory Park (formerly the D.N.R.'s park) where there were spots where I got some good shots of the Wonderfair Wheel, which moved to a new location next to the park.

Then it was on to the Exposition Center where I bought the 2025 lapel pin. My collection of fair pins goes back to 2003. In 2024, we went to the fair over the second weekend and I couldn't find that year's specific pin and came home with a larger pin that didn't have the year on it.

The view of the Wheel from the Park. 8/2/25 dwm

Since the Wonder Fair Wheel first arrived in 2017, I've usually rode the big wheel to capture the view from the top.

Since I was riding solo, the guy in charge of loading the gondolas pulled me up from my spot in the line to join a family of three.

Mom and her two boys were in the gondola because dad didn't like heights, which gave me a spot. The two young guys were enthusiastic about the ride and looking out over the fairgrounds.

The Kids From Wisconsin. 8/2/25 dwm

We had one full circuit without interruption and two other trips punctuated with stops and starts to load and unload passengers. (If you scroll down, you'll find more pictures.)

The Wisconsin Products Pavilion is the best place to find some of the state's best foods and it's where I ordered a burger from the state Cattleman's Association. It was very good!

It's not a trip to State Fair without watching the Kids From Wisconsin. It's the group's 56th year entertaining at the fair and around the state during the summer. This year's group put on a high-energy show that included some songs new to me but with plenty of old favorites.

A wining cake. 8/2/25 dwm

We usually try to have one final treat before heading home, I already had a chocolate shake in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion so I happily helped our youngest son and his wife clean up their orders of deep-fried Oreos and an Elephant Ear, yum!

Lyrics to State Fair by Rodgers & Hammerstein:

Our State Fair is a great state fair

Don't miss it, don't even be late

Its dollars to doughnuts at our state fair

It's the best state fair in our state!

State Fair runs through Sunday, August 10 in West Allis, Wisconsin.

All photos taken August 2, 2025 by David Mossner.