DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Fair is now less than two weeks away, but setup has been well underway. However, there’s a little wrinkle this weekend as the heavy rain in the Des Moines area is delaying that process for some. 

Camper setup and outdoor vendors on the grass were supposed to be allowed to start showing up Saturday morning, July 26. Instead, they’re being asked to show up 24 hours later, Sunday morning at 8 a.m.

The campground is especially a concern as it’s a hilly area with all those RVs and trucks rolling in and out of there.

WHO 13 Drone footage shows big water puddles in different areas of the campground.

“Always basically two weeks prior to the fair is the opening day in our campground. So, some of our fair campers do choose to come in early. Oftentimes it’s a convenience thing to drop their camper off on the weekend,” Iowa State Fair CEO Jeremy Parsons said. “That’s part of that process. Of course, when you’re looking at our concessionaires, it takes them two to four weeks, really to get fully set up and established. So again, we just think this one day delay will let the ground dry a little bit and make everybody’s experience, much, much better when the fair actually gets here.”

In the meantime, fair workers have been trying to get the grounds ready. 

“We’ve got a crew up in the campgrounds working hard to get the campgrounds ready. Obviously, our maintenance crew also working throughout the fairgrounds and campgrounds and just want to give them a little extra day to prepare, but also more importantly, to let that ground dry before people come onto the property,” Parsons said.

So this Sunday is for the reserved campers, but next Sunday is when people try to fill the open spots. It’s “organized chaos”.

“It’s a little bit of a land rush,. One of the things that makes the Iowa State Fair so unique is people love the fair. They love to camp at the fair. And so when you have a small town located right next to the fairgrounds, you know, more than 3,000 camping units will be there. More than 10,000 people living up there on the campgrounds. It’s really just part of the Iowa State Fair experience,” he said.

The Iowa State Fair also wants people to know about something new this year, whether you’re camping or just visiting for the day, you’re allowed to bring food and drinks through the gates, with the exception of glass and alcohol. So, this means you can bring unopened or opened beverages this year. 

“Well, if you’re a family that wants to come to the fair, maybe on a little more affordable budget or maybe have some dietary restrictions, again, you’re encouraged to bring in outside food and drink. It just needs to be a soft sided cooler. But any of those items can be brought on to the fairgrounds,” Parsons said.

Another way to save money is buying tickets ahead of time. They’re $11 for adult tickets online verses $16 at the gate. 

That Iowa State Fair runs August 7-17.