Iowa State Fair to feature butter sculptures of Johnny Carson, Steve Higgins & Jimmy Fallon
July 11th, 2024 by Ric Hanson
DES MOINES, Iowa — Late-night TV icons with Iowa ties will be immortalized in butter at next month’s Iowa State Fair. Johnny Carson, who was born in Corning, and Des Moines native Steve Higgins will be in the Agriculture Building’s cooler next to the wildly popular butter cow and another special guest — “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon. State Fair butter sculptor Sarah Pratt and her team will also make a butter version of the sky glider to celebrate its 50th year.
Fallon, known for his on-air impressions, will get his own impression in butter at the 2024 Iowa State Fair. Fallon will be sculpted alongside the Tonight Show’s announcer, producer and Des Moines, Iowa, native Steve Higgins in celebration of 10 years with Jimmy Fallon as the host of the show.
Another Iowa native will also be featured in butter – longtime Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson lived in Corning, Avoca and Red Oak as a child. Carson took over the Tonight Show in 1962 for a run that lasted three decades.
The butter cow, along with butter versions of Higgins, Carson and Fallon, will be featured alongside an iconic sky glider chair as the main Sky Glider celebrates 50 years in 2024. All of the sculptures will be on display in the John Deere Agriculture Building 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., during the Fair, August 8-18.
The butter cow has been an annual attraction at the State Fair since 1911. Sarah Pratt of West Des Moines was named the fair’s fifth butter sculptor in 2006 after 15 years as an apprentice to Duffy Lyon. Companion sculptures of the butter cow have been a tradition since at least 1996 when Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic” painting was immortalized. Last year’s fair featured iconic Iowa athletes Jack Trice, Kurt Warner and Caitlin Clark.
The 2024 Iowa State Fair annual parade kicks things off Aug. 7 in downtown Des Moines.