I haven’t been there for 25 years, so can only be of limited help, but we used to show cattle when I was a kid and was there quite a bit.
The Des Moines Register used to print the schedule in a special section, which was helpful. I see nowadays they have an app, which you can download. I did. Even though it is titled Fair Food, it has the daily schedule.
Here is the link:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...p-and-event-calendar-how-download/1956209001/
I think it is at that link too, but here is a link to their map, which I am going to refer to some below:
https://www.iowastatefair.org/upl/downloads/library/fairgrounds-map.pdf
In general terms, the fair kind of crescendos and peaks the day you will be there. Sunday, the last day, is kind of anticlimactic, everyone leaving or getting set to. I think the grounds are more than 200 acres, so you won’t be able to see everything, but you can see a lot. Take time to relax and don’t worry about taking it all in. Wear comfortable shoes. If interested you can always come back next year, or the year after ... Maybe there will even be far more people there tomorrow than you would prefer. On the other hand, the more ground you cover, the more you will see, and you sound willing. If you are there several days for quite a few years, in contrast, everything can seem the same, except for the one or two things that might have changed from the prior year. As I look at the map, most things I recognize still, but obviously quite a few things are new since I was last there.
What NWICY said above. Those buildings have been there forever and I think are on the National Register of Historic Places. Even if you aren’t interested in watching the cattle show, you might go into the pavilion just to check it out. There are little shops that ring the outside of the pavilion, like making taffy. I don’t know if they will be in the horse barn, as I recall once when I was there, but it looks like the Budweiser Clydesdales will be there tomorrow. As I recall from the schedule for tomorrow, it looks like they are also showing llamas. The Pork Producers feed a lot more people now, and that is more the kind of food I would be interested in. The sheep producers used to have a stand on the east side of the sheep barn, with burgers and kebobs that were pretty good. They used to serve malts in the Milking Parlor on the north side of the cattle barn. Only visiting there from Ames did I ever partake much in the various kinds of food there, at all the different stands. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it can be too much, and expensive.
Note that the Agriculture Building, where the Butter Cow is, also has various produce grown in Iowa. The Cultural Center has art work, carvings and such. Pioneer Hall is about the oldest building and worth stopping by, and I think near where you get on the sky glider. The Varied Industries Building is enclosed and air conditioned now I think, perhaps not too big a consideration tomorrow, but I bet it could be pretty packed on a hot and/or high attendance day.
Some little sidelines that might interest you could include the DNR and their aquariums, the law hall of fame, pioneer village, the state fair museum, the giant slide, free entertainment stages, and other things too numerous to list. There should be some large farm equipment somewhere there, too.
