[ People cheering, laughter ]
Dan: All right.
So we're here on the Giant Wheel at the Iowa State Fair 2018.
Thankfully, we're at the very bottom point of this situation,
'cause I'm afraid of heights.
I'm not sure how it's going to feel up there,
but this is feeling less scary than the Sky Glider,
which is kind of like the ski lift that goes nowhere
over there.
Um...
This isn't so bad.
It's just a good way to get a lay of the land.
Oh, wow. You can see the grandstand over there.
That's where they play the concerts.
Down there is the administrative building.
The varied industries building.
Oh, God. We paused on the top.
This fuckin' sucks. Oh, my God.
We're here on the Giant Wheel at the Iowa State Fair.
It was fun until Billy started moving --
the cameraman.
Billy, sit down. Sit down, you fucker.
You're scaring the shit out of --
Billy, si-- I'm not fucking kidding.
Billy, fucking stop moving!
Now I'm having a panic attack, and my hands are sweating,
and I'm gonna cry.
I don't know why people think this is okay.
This is torture.
[ People cheering, laughter ]
All right, so we left the fairgrounds,
and now we're in a neighborhood called the East Side.
And every year, as is tradition,
the people in the East Side
turn their front yards into parking lots.
So it's about a 15-block radius
where everybody just sort of just sets up shop
for the duration of the fair.
They put up signs. They have attractions.
They have all kinds of tricks where they wave wands
and bring people in to try to grab some money.
And when I was a kid, I always wanted to kind of
hang out in this area.
But my parents being the way they were
were just, like, "All right, let's get in and get out."
And I'd be, meanwhile, looking around, like,
"Whoa, what is that? What is that?"
You know, attracted to a subculture,
and I never got to actually explore it.
So, today, since I'm a grown-up
and don't have parents telling me what to do,
we're gonna go hang out in the parking lots
and take a better look at it.
What's your name?
Uh, Mrs. May.
Mrs. May? I'm Dan.
How you doin'? Good.
Is this an exciting time of year
for people on the East Side?
And what happens -- I'm a diehard.
Yeah? Do you go in at all?
No, I hadn't been to the fair for 20 years.
Really? What do you guys do?
You just hang out here all day? Yep.
It's kind of its own side party.
Pretty much.
Yo! 5 bucks! [ Both laugh ]
They're looking for the free parks.
5 bucks!
5 bucks, and you can be on TV, too. Okay, cool.
-Okay. -Right here?
Yeah, right here.
♪♪
This is my first transaction.
-Right here. -Exactly.
Yep, it's my first time.
-There you go? -What is that?
That's a -- Oh. All right.
You good? -Thank you.
-Thank you so much. -All right, guys.
-Have a good day. -Yeah, you too.
-Thank you. -All right, guys.
-Who gets it? -Give it to him.
-You get it. -All right.
[ Laughter ]
I just saw this guy's got a crazy TV on a light pole,
so I gotta figure out what that's all about.
He's working.
I hope he doesn't hit me with that bat.
Down here!
-Hey, there. -How we doin'?
-Good. How are you? -Not too bad.
I'm -- I'm drawn in by your...TV.
Tell me about it.
We ran an aerial drop of power through the trees,
and then an aerial drop off my satellite dish
through my media line.
And you got TV here on the telephone pole.
Can I have a seat here, try out the whole scene?
Absolutely. Absolutely, yeah.
Make sure the shade hasn't shifted out of the umbrella.
Can I see the bat?
So I'm just going to kinda feeling out the whole thing.
I'm not gonna ask for the other thing
'cause I don't have a license for that.
Yo, get in here!
5 bucks! Is it 5 bucks?
I'm getting $10.
Oh-ho, $10? 10 bucks!
There you go.
♪♪
The sun's going down.
People are starting to leave the fair
and settle into their homes.
There's about 2,000 to 3,000 campers here,
based on who you ask.
As a kid, I never got to walk around in here
because my parents wouldn't let me.
So finally, I get to go do that, and I'm very excited.
Howdy!
-You always camp here? -Somewhere.
Yeah? [ Chuckling ] Yeah.
Is this your whole setup,
just this trailer? That's it. That's it.
What do you like the most about the fair?
I just like the fair.
You just like the fair? [ Laughs ]
-That's good. -It's a good fair.
♪♪
Howdy!
"Howdy" is a really easy way to talk to people around here.
Howdy!
People respond to "howdy."
I say "howdy" to people in New York,
they think I'm crazy.
Howdy, folks.
-Hello! -How you doing?
-[ Indistinct talking ] -What's going on?
Cheers. Happy fair.
Thanks for the hospitality.
Right.
We'd have chicken, but I ate it all.
[ Laughter ] You ate all the chicken?
I'm not inviting you to my party.
There you go. [ Laughter ]
♪♪
So you're saying if I wanted to actually get a spot in here,
there's a 20-year waiting list? Man: Yes.
And people leave their RV spot in the will?
Yes.
So the kids don't fight about it or anything.
That's amazing.
See, that's something I had no idea.
Yeah. I kind of assumed it was just kind of
a first-come, first-serve on an annual basis.
You can land-rush in here.
The trouble is, you might not have electricity or water.
Yeah, I had no idea it was that.
Well, there's, what -- There's 3,600 campers here.
They said it's like the third or fourth largest state --
city in Iowa when the campground is going
with all the people here and stuff.
[ Laughs ] That's amazing.
Woman: We have a Drink of the Day.
-What is it? -Want a sample?
Yeah, I'll have a sample.
What do we got here, grape Kool-Aid?
Yeah.
Mmm.
Mixed with KC? What's KC?
Oh, no. That's the children's drink.
Got it.
-That's... -It's Kiddie Cocktail.
Man: We're in a lighting contest tonight.
Yeah, what's up with the lighting contest?
How many people compete?
Well, there's been as many as, I think, seven.
Wasn't there seven the one year?
But you get free camping then for the next year.
You get free camping if you win? Yeah.
That's worth trying.
Oh, yeah. Definitely.
Well, geez. We bought some gimmicks,
so we're hoping that'll work out.
Do you want to rehearse it at all?
The song? Well, yeah.
-You can if you want to. -It's up to you.
Well, I gotta get it playing here.
Let me get it playing.
[ Laughter ]
He just kind of sings over the words.
I just sing over it.
[ Music starts on cellphone ] ♪ And when it happens ♪
♪ It took me by surprise ♪
♪ I knew that you felt it, too ♪
[ Chuckles ]
♪ By the look in your-- ♪ [ Music stops ]
Oh, wait a minute. Buffering.
♪ This magic moment ♪
♪ So different and so new ♪
♪ Is like any other ♪
♪ Until I kissed you ♪
♪ And then it happened ♪
♪ It took me by surprise ♪
♪ I knew that you felt it, too ♪
♪ By the look in your eyes ♪
I have to admit, I'm a little bit sad
that this is winding to a close for us.
We tried to show you as much as we could,
but there's just honestly no way to do it.
I don't want to sound like I'm advertising for it.
Maybe if you just find a fair somewhere that you can go to
because this is kind of like, when the world is so messy,
you can sometimes just go
have fun with your friends in a community
and have a good time.
So, that's it.
I'm Dan from VICE. This is the Iowa State Fair.
You don't have to go to this one,
but you should go to a fair,
or you should at least just care about your community.
That's it.
Thank you.
♪ Oh, magic ♪