Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Wednesday, August 28, 2024
From Wall Lake to the Grandstand, more from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Eat up the summer with an Iowa Soybean Association Farmer membership powered by the Soybean Checkup. Access timely industry info, engage in on-farm research, and join producer programs all designed to support your operations' unique needs. Activate or confirm your membership before August 31st and be entered to win one of many unique prizes, including a solo stove. Visit isoybeans.com today to learn more. The Iowa Soybean Association driven to deliver for Iowa's nearly 37,000 Soybean Farmers. Our Iowa State Fair Grandstand shows are big events with the top national artists performing. They're now the third largest moneymaker for the fair each year, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, it wasn't until the 1960s that the Grandstand began being used for concerts at all. The 1965 Iowa State Fair was actually the first to feature a top-notch performer in concert. Wall Lake native Andy Williams returned to his home state at the height of his international popularity to take the Grandstand stage on five consecutive nights. At the time, his national television variety program was quite popular, and he brought with him on the stage a group that regularly performed on his television program. The Osmond Brothers. That was fitting since Andy Williams first performed with his brothers, singing on the radio in the 1930s. For the next several years, the fair booked a single top-notch act to perform on multiple nights. Several times in the 1960s and 1970s, it was the Lawrence Welk Orchestra. We now eagerly anticipate release of the list of performers who will take the stage at our fair each August, but the trend started with Iowa's own Andy Williams, who wrapped up a five-night engagement at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand on this state in 1965. And that's Iowa Almanac for August 28. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.