Have you ever seen a Butter Cow? Well that's just one of the many things you'll encounter if you check out the Ohio State Fair in Columbus, Ohio. This fair begins every year in early August and has been going strong for over 150 years. The butter cow is actually a unique sculpture of a Cow made entirely out of butter. Of course this tasty piece of art would melt in the August heat so it and other butter sculptures are kept indoors and well-air conditioned.

There are many other interesting exhibits which exemplify the agriculturally based economy of Ohio. From time to time visitors may find themselves in line to try the act of milking a real cow or heading to the vegetable exhibit to see this year's Giant Pumpkin or best Indian corn. There will also be a new exhibit this 2006 called the 'The Gallery of Stains.' It will encourage visitors to make to messiest of stains on a wall and try to get them out with a name brand detergent.

The midway will offer up lots of carnival food including funnel cakes, elephants ears and a Midwest favorite, Roast Corn on the Cob, including as much butter and salt as you could want. Just don't eat too much before you get on one of several rides.

For some family fun you can head over to the old time era pavilion. Here you'll find people living and dressing in the style of over a hundred years ago. Sample some homemade Sassafras tea, learn how to whittle or meet Smokey the Bear and learn that only you can prevent forest fires.

There is also a small stocked catfish pond where fair visitors can pay extra to rent a pole and attempt to catch some fish to take home for dinner. This is a great activity for the kids.

Since the fair is in the state's capitol there is usually plenty of accommodation available in the form of a hotel room in town. There tends to be a lot of traffic in town so be careful or you may want to spend some time at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) exhibit this year.