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What's up at the Ohio Expo Center and Ohio State
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With the Ohio State Fair and more than 200 other events, there's
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BUTTER SCULPTURE FACTS
Butter Sculpture Facts
COLUMBUS, July 28, 2009
In the early 1900s, The Ohio State University and the dairy processors of Ohio sponsored butter sculpting contests at the Ohio State Fair. The subjects of these contests were not restricted to specific themes.
Eventually, the butter cow, and later the calf, found a permanent “home” in the Dairy Products Building, which was constructed in the 1920s. New cow and calf sculptures are sculpted each year, thus becoming a fair tradition.
Additional butter figures were added to the cow and calf display in the 1960s, and the subject changes every year.
The Dairy Products Building and the butter sculpture display are sponsored by the American Dairy Association Mideast, the dairy farmer-funded organization responsible for increasing sales of and demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients in Ohio and West Virginia.
Each year, the American Dairy Association Mideast selects an icon or theme to feature in butter that is non-political, non-controversial and reflects optimism and broad audience-appeal.
A group of three Cincinnati-based free-lance technical sculptors, engaged primarily in the toy industry, completed this year’s display in approximately 350 hours (200 hours of sculpting and 150 hours of designing and planning). This is their 10th year sculpting the display.
This year’s display is made from approximately 1,800 pounds of unsalted butter, donated in part by Dairy Farmers of America.
A temperature of 45 degrees is maintained inside the cooler.
Approximately 500,000 fairgoers visit the Dairy Products Building annually to see the butter sculptures and enjoy real dairy products.
Many of the exhibits attract local, regional and national media coverage, including CNN Today, The Weather Channel, MSNBC, Sports Illustrated and Late Night with David Letterman.
Previous butter sculptures include:
Astronaut Neil Armstrong
Golfer Jack Nicklaus
Star War's Darth Vader
A Tribute to the Arts
A Tribute to Milk Delivery
Indy 500 Winner Bobby Rahal
Jack Hanna and the Columbus Zoo
The Modern Dairy Farmer
Boxer Buster Douglas
A Salute to the Armed Forces
A Tribute to the Olympics
A Tribute to 4-H
The Anniversary of the Ice Cream Cone
Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas
A Salute to Dairy Product Development
The Ohio State Buckeyes
Space Pioneer John Glenn
Retired Butter Sculptor Dan Ross
A Day at the Fair with Hasbro Toys
The Columbus Crew
A Salute to America
Aviators Orville and Wilbur Wright
Great Explorers Lewis and Clark
America’s Favorite Treat - Ice Cream
Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns
Ohio as the Nation’s Leader in Swiss Cheese
Tribute to Ohio’s U.S. Presidents
The Ohio Expo Center is proud to host the 156th Ohio State Fair. With a spectacular midway, big-name entertainment, hundreds of exhibits and one of the largest junior fair shows in the nation, the 2009 Ohio State Fair will run July 29 – August 9.
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For more information, media may contact Christina Leeds at 614-644-4011.
(Please do not publish this number.)
The Ohio Expo Center is an equal opportunity employer and service provider.
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