Neighborhood parking lots of the Iowa State Fair

Iowa State Fair time is here once again. Over the years, I have written about strange stories from Iowa’s celebrated event. In 2017, I became completely obsessed with the infamous neighborhood parking lots of the Iowa State Fair — the front lawns of the residents who live in the Fairgrounds Neighborhood on the east side. You might even call that area “The Gateway to the Iowa State Fair.” I even produced a short film about the subject.

In 2017, I was working on the series called “Play By Play,” a “Wonder Years”-style dramedy that was filming in Des Moines in the heart of the streaming-wars era of television. This was the era when multiple companies were starting their own streaming services and pumping lots of money into content creation. “Play By Play” was part of Verizon’s Go90 streaming service, and unfortunately, the service would shutter before seasons two and three were released. That summer, I was also feeling inspired by the 1980s shot-on-video documentary “Heavy Metal Parking Lot.” It followed a two-person crew who drove into the parking lot of the coliseum in Landover, Maryland, as fans tailgated while preparing to watch Judas Priest onstage.

I got a call early that August that Vice News was coming to Des Moines to film a segment at the Iowa State Fair. I was already going to be out there with a crew filming a bit, so I thought there might be a way to piggyback on this. The crew and I spent a day together filming interviews and scenes, including our host getting stuck on the Ferris wheel. He was scared of heights. When we finished, the producer asked if I wanted their all-access passes. Why not?

The next day, a small crew of three and I ventured back down to the fairgrounds. We parked as far away as we could so we could film a Tolkien-level adventure from one end of the fairgrounds neighborhood to the gates of the State Fair. We drove around with the camera hanging out the window, catching folks with flags trying to grab people’s attention so they would park in their yards. One person wore a bear mask, thinking she could catch people that way.

We walked from one lot to another, meeting people who had been offering this service for decades. Most just had stories to share about parking pimps and snake charmers. People had sex in their cars while parked next to residents’ living room windows. One woman I like to refer to as the “Queen” owned a big plot of land just northeast of the fairgrounds. She would sit by her garage in a lawn chair while a few large, tattooed men with beards parked people and collected cash. She wore pink, had her hair up in a ponytail and sipped on a Kum & Go lemonade. She explained to me that she had been doing this for 30 years. Some of her neighbors would sell parking spots on their lawns so they could pay their property taxes. She said she did it out of tradition. Her dad did it first, and then she took over to keep it going.

We found one gentleman who went by the name “AP.” He and his girlfriend had recently bought a house in the neighborhood, and this was their first year renting out spots on their lawn. He explained to me that he saw his neighbors doing it, so he thought he would make a little extra money to take his woman out to a nice dinner.

The Iowa Department of Revenue does require residents to get a sales tax permit and collect the 6%. Everyone was quick to tell me they paid their taxes, even when I didn’t ask. Some just smiled. We continued our journey until we reached the gates of the Iowa State Fair. Then we pulled out our all-access passes and went in. Although we had those passes, we shot only a few frames of B-roll, and then we just had a good time. The story wasn’t about the fair; it was about the people who live around it. ♦

Kristian Day is a filmmaker and writer based in Des Moines. He also hosts the syndicated Iowa Basement Tapes radio program on 98.9 FM KFMG. Instagram: @kristianday | Twitter: @kristianmday