Poynette resident Ashley Hagenow, Wisconsin’s 76th Alice in Dairyland, chats with young fans while signing autographs following her Aug. 3, 2023 “Back to School with Wisconsin Dairy” presentation in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion during the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair at State Fair Park in West Allis.
The Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol's Milwaukee 5 Composite Squadron Color Guard provided a patriotic start to the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair's Aug. 3 opening ceremonies at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Pictured, from left, are Isabella Schleuse, Kaeden Saunders, Ryan Whitney and Alex Schllhamer.
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Milwaukee-based Kids from Wisconsin, an award-winning elite Broadway-caliber traveling youth musical troupe, entertains at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheatre at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis on Aug. 3 Nonprofit Kids from Wisconsin draws auditioned talent from across the state and is annually comprised of 36 singers, dancers and band members ages 15-20. Marking its 55th anniversary season in 2023, Kids from Wisconsin is the country’s only pre-professional organization of its kind.
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Opening the 11-day run of the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair on Aug. 3, Gov. Tony Evers (right) presented Wisconsin State Fair Board Chairman John Yingling (left) and State Fair Executive Director and CEO Shari Black (center) with a framed proclamation naming Aug. 3-13 as Wisconsin State Fair Days. The presentation came during opening ceremonies at the Bank Five Amphitheater at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis.
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Opening day crowds begin to fill the Wisconsin State Fair's sprawling 200-acre fairgrounds campus in West Allis on Aug. 3, as seen from the park's Skyglider attraction. Seen in the distance is the skyscraping WonderFair Wheel. At 15 stories high, the WonderFair Wheel offers riders a breathtaking view of the Milwaukee area with visibility of more than 10 miles from the top of the wheel.
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Several members of the Sharon 4-H Club were among those exhibiting at the Walworth County Youth Dairy Exhibit on opening day of the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair at State Fair Park in West Allis, including first-time exhibitor Connar Schell of Clinton, exhibiting a spring yearling Holstein. Said Schell, an incoming junior at Clinton High School, of his first experience exhibiting at, and attending, the Wisconsin State Fai , "It's busy and fun, a good experience. There's a lot of stuff to do and a lot of stuff to see. It's pretty fun. I'm gonna be here for a full week so I can explore the whole week."
Several members of the Sharon 4-H Club were among those exhibiting at the Walworth County Youth Dairy Exhibit on opening day, including Jasmine Davenport of Sharon, a three-time State Fair exhibitor showing two spring and summer Brown Swiss yearlings. Class of 2023 Badger High School alumnus Davenport is an incoming accounting major at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha and an 11-year Walworth County Fair dairy cattle exhibitor
Walworth County youth were among the agricultural exhibitors at the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. Pictured on opening day, Aug. 3, is the Walworth County Junior Dairy Exhibit in the Upper Cattle Barns complex at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
The 2023 Wisconsin State Fair offers fairgoers a variety of free music stages across the breadth of the nearly 200-acre Wisconsin State Fair Park campus in West Allis during its ongoing 11-day Aug. 3-13 run. Here, Madison-based blued band The Jimmys perform at the fairground's Central Park on opening day, Aug. 3.
The nonprofit, West Allis-based Wisconsin Bakers Association sells some 400,000 of the State Fair's signature iconic cream puffs annually during the 11-day run of the Wisconsin State Fair at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis. The glass window walls of the Original Cream Puff Bakery in the State Fair's Dairy Building Original Cream Puff Pavilion allows hungry fairgoers a performance art look at the cream puff-making process.
Taking top honors in the Wisconsin State Fair's juried 2023 Sporkies food competition was the Beer Cheese Wisconsin Lava Cake served up by WürstBar Executive Chef Curtis Peterson — salted Milwaukee Pretzel Co. slider buns injected with house-made beer cheese soup, topped with butter and pretzel salt, and drizzled with hot honey and red pepper flakes. An initial 9,000 orders were prepped for the fair. The Sporkies championship saw Peterson and his crew lay plans to prep an additional 6,000 orders to meet expected demand by hungry fairgoers.
A total of 42 new concession offerings were entered into the Wisconsin State Fair's 2023 "Sporkies" fair food competition, judged by a panel of six local celebrities. Taking first place Sporkies honors the Beer Cheese Wisconsin Lava Cake served up by WürstBar Executive Chef Curtis Peterson — salted Milwaukee Pretzel Co. slider buns injected with house-made beer cheese soup, topped with butter and pretzel salt, and drizzled with hot honey and red pepper flakes. In advance of the State Fair, Peterson said 9,000 orders of Beer Cheese Wisconsin Lava Cake were prepped. With the first place win in the 2023 Sporkies, an additional 6,000 more orders were slated to be prepped to meet the expected demand from hungry fairgoers.
Placing second in the Wisconsin State Fair's jurried 2023 Sporkies food competition was The Porkie sundae served up by Camp Bar — vanilla custard layered with cheesecake bites and hot fudge, topped with crumbled graham cracker crust, more hot fudge, warm caramel, a graham cracker cookie, a cherry, and candied bacon dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles.
Taking first place in the Wisconsin State Fair's trailblazing inaugural Drinkies non-alcoholic beverage competition was the Ferris Mule served up by Old Fashioned Sipper Club — a non-alcoholic mule crafted with fresh blackberries, ginger beer, freshly squeezed lime juice and agave nectar, all of which is hand-shaken and poured over ice, garnished with fresh blackberries, a rosemary sprig and lime wheel.
Taking first place in the Wisconsin State Fair's trailblazing inaugural Drinkies competition was the Ferris Mule served up bartender Brad Yates at Old Fashioned Sipper Club on the Wisconsin State Fair Park campus in West Allis. The non-alcoholic mule is crafted with fresh blackberries, ginger beer, freshly squeezed lime juice and agave nectar, all of which is hand-shaken and poured over ice, garnished with fresh blackberries, a rosemary sprig and lime wheel. Said Yates of the Drinkies competition, judged by a half-dozen local celebrities, "It's 100% competitive. Everybody had great stuff."
The Original Cream Puff Pavilion in the Dairy Building at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis draws a steady procession of visitors during the State Fair's 11-day run. The Wisconsin State Fair's iconic Original Cream Puff. sold since 1924, is the most popular food item at the fair. Sold individually and in 3- and 6-packs at the Cream Puff Pavilion and two remote to-go stands on the fairgrounds, some 400,000 signature WIsconsin State Fair cream puffs are sold annually. The nonprofit, West Allis-based Wisconsin Bakers Association operates the Cream Puff Bakery in the Original Cream Puff Pavilion.
Grandstand Avenue at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis was filled with opening day crowds on Aug. 3 as the 11-day 2023 Wisconsin State Fair kicked off. The State Fair, which runs through Sunday, Aug. 13, drew more than one million attendees last year.
Live radio remotes from the Wisconsin State Fair are a popular fan-favorite attraction at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, giving listeners an inside look at the world of radio broadcasting and the opportunity to put faces to familiar voices. Here, co-hosts Sandy Maxx (left) and Steve Scaffidi chat live from WTMJ's Bank Five Nine Studio at State Fair during the 9 a.m. to noon "WTMJ N.O.W." (News, Opinions, Wisconsin + Why it Matters) show.
