COLUMBUS, Ohio — One of the most anticipated moments for Ohio State Fair organizers is unveiling the themed butter cow display. This year, the American Dairy Association Mideast's butter display honors and salutes the nation's elite athletes.
The display depicts four athletes and nods to the upcoming Paris Olympics. There is a track and field para athlete at the starting line, a gymnast doing a handstand on the balance beam, a cyclist rounding a curve and a high-jumper clearing the bar.
“Athletes are dedicated to perfecting their craft, pushing their limits and striving for excellence,” said Jenny Crabtree, senior vice president of communications, American Dairy Association Mideast. “Elite athletes become role models, inspiring us all to chase our dreams and believe in our potential.”
This is not the first time the butter display has honored athletes. In 2017, the display featured high school athletes fueled by chocolate milk, the 2010 display recognized two NFL players from the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals and in 1997, the display depicted an Ohio State football player and cheerleader.
According to a press release, the sculptures were crafted from 2,000 pounds of butter. The sculptors spent approximately 450 hours completing the display, with 375 hours dedicated to sculpting inside the 46-degree cooler.
“Every year, we try to do something different we’ve never done before, and this year, it was conveying the true-to-life motion of each athlete in action,” said lead sculptor Paul Brooke. “We had to get very creative with the armatures to support the massive weight of the butter. For example, there is a hidden armature to hold up the cyclist as he leans into a curve, and the high-jumper is actually hanging from the ceiling like Spider-Man, so he appears to be jumping over the bar.”
The famous butter sculptures sit in the Dairy Products Building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Visitors can stop by and see the work from July 24 to Aug. 4.
The state fair has been going on since 1850 and draws in crowds from all over the state for concerts, 4-H projects and judging, fair food, games and more.
The butter cow and calf were first featured at the fair in 1903. They are created each year, along with a mystery sculpture that reflects the "positive ideals and cultural trends in Ohio."
Here are some of the themes from previous years:
- 90th anniversary of the ice cream cone
- A bald eagle
- A Hasbro Tonka Truck
- A salute to the armed forces
- A tribute to Ohio’s dairy farmers
- A tribute to The Ohio State Buckeyes
- A tribute to the Olympics
- Darth Vader
- Dave Thomas of Wendy’s
- Furby
- Jack Nicklaus
- John Glenn
- Mr. Monopoly
- Neil Armstrong
- The Liberty Bell
- Columbus Bicentennial birthday cake
- A tribute to the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir
- A tribute to Ohio symbols
- A tribute to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing
- A salute to chocolate milk
- A tribute to the movie, A Christmas Story