DES MOINES, Iowa — The internet is in love with a long-held tradition at the Iowa State Fair.
A TikTok video, posted by the account @_rhinestonecowboy, of the 2017 Iowa State Fair husband calling contest is currently going viral, amassing more than 1 million views so far on the video-sharing platform.
According to the Iowa State Fair’s marketing director Mindy Williamson, the husband calling contest is a part of the Heritage competitions held in Pioneer Hall at the Fairgrounds and features about 12 to 15 entries every year.
Other contests include mom calling, hog calling, and more competitive family-friendly events.
The schedule of contests is posted in mid-summer before the fair starts and potential entrants can typically sign up an hour before the competitions begin at Pioneer Hall.
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The TikTok video, clipped from an Iowa PBS video of the contest, illustrates that year’s top five finalists’ efforts to win the grand prize of $5.
All participants received a ribbon.
The video begins with the fifth-place finalist yelping, in-part, “Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob, hurry up. I don’t want be late,” before the fourth-place finisher yodels her life partner’s name. Then, the third-place finalist opens her presentation by singing her husband’s name followed by a clip of the second placeholder, who shouted “DARRYL!”
Finally, the champion Bonnie Swalwell Eilert yelled her husband’s name and then said, “Can you hear me? You get yourself in here right now. Come on! You know you’re gonna be late again and you know that I want to get there on time,” before repeatedly resuming calling her husband Roy’s name.
Swalwell Eilert has participated in multiple Iowa State Fair competitions through the years.
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According to a 2017 Des Moines Register report, Eilert has won multiple husband calling contests and even appeared on the NBC talent show “Little Big Shots: Forever Young.”
The top two comments as of Jan. 13 are, “Is this… real??” which received more than 111,000 likes and, “Sadly, as an Iowan, this is real. Welcome to the Iowa state fair,” accompanied by two emojis and another 58,000 likes.
The Iowa State Fair is held each summer in Des Moines and this year’s is scheduled for Aug. 10-20. For more information visit iowastatefair.org.
Des Moines Register
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