The Iowa State Fair was supposed to begin this Thursday, August 13, and continue through Sunday, August 23 but alas, it won't happen. 2020, the year of coronavirus and cancellations, struck this event as well, canceling it for just the sixth time in its illustrious history. This year, instead of hundreds of thousands of us walking a marathon around the fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa PBS is going to take us on a nostalgic look back of their 49 years of fair coverage.

Iowa PBS began covering the Iowa State Fair in 1971. In future years when my sister and I stayed with my grandparents during fair week, the PBS coverage was always must-see television.

In 1972, Iowa PBS did this report on Bear Wrestling at the fair. I'm not sure this will be part of their coverage this week but I just had to show you. It proves we've gotten smarter over the years.

That same year, here are some of the competitions at the fair:

Iowa PBS' five nights of coverage are called 'Celebrating the Fair.' They'll air tonight, Monday, August 10 through Friday, August 14 at 9 p.m. each evening and will immediately repeat at 10 p.m. All five episodes will also air in order beginning Sunday afternoon, August 16, at 2 p.m.

If you'd like to see what 'Celebrating the Fair' will cover each night, you can see that HERE. Thankfully, the fair was able to reschedule nearly every concert from this year to 2021. It will make for a great starting point for the 2021 fair. I know it's safe to say we're all looking forward to turning the calendar to a new year.

Five Other Times the Iowa State Fair Was Canceled