30 photos of past state fair butter sculptures
From motorcycles, playgrounds, Tiger Woods and Jesus — these sculptures are so much more than butter cows.
Jim Victor of Conshohocken, Pa., touches the 800 pound butter cow sculpture he carved at the Pennsylvania State Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003. The project took nearly 10 days and has been a farm show tradition for the last 12 years. (AP Photo/Kalim A. Bhatti)
Norma "Duffy" Lyon works on a butter sculpture of golfer Tiger Woods, Tuesday Aug. 9, 2005, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa. Lyon, who has carved a life-size dairy cow out of butter at the fair for more than 40 years, has in the past made butter sculptures of actor John Wayne and country singer Garth Brooks. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The Pennsylvania Dairy Industry rolled out their 1,000-pound "Butter Sculpture" prior to the opening of the 95th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show, Thursday, Jan 6, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. The sculpture depicts a dairy farmer providing milk to children playing. Following the Farm Show the butter will be converted into biofuel. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
A section of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture is seen in a case Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, at the show in Harrisburg, Pa. This year's sculpture is made out of 800 pounds of butter and is called "Preserving the Pennsylvania Farm." It shows a girl bottle-feeding a calf. Jim Victor created the sculpture in about 15 days. Gov. Ed Rendell plans to deliver his first speech at the annual show - halfway through his four-year term. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Corbin Davis, 13, of Chambersburg, Pa., looks through the glass case at the 2005 Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, in Harrisburg, Pa. This year's sculpture is made out of 800 pounds of butter and is called "Preserving the Pennsylvania Farm." It shows a girl bottle feeding a calf as her father look on from the left. Governor Ed Rendell will deliver his first speech at the annual Pennsylvania Farm Show when it opens in Harrisburg on Saturday. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Sculptor Sharon BuMann, of Central Square, N.Y., creates the "Butter Cow" sculpture using 700 pounds of butter in the Dairy Barn at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2006. BuMann creates a different pose for the sculpture each year. The Illinois State Fair is scheduled to start Friday, Aug 11. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
The official butter sculpture of the 2008 Pennsylvania Farm Show is seen inside its refrigerated case at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, in Harrisburg, Pa. The sculpture is made of 900 ponds of butter and is of three children and a cow waiting to board a school bus. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A section of the 2009 Butter Sculpture is seen at the 93rd annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. This year's sculpture is dedicated to the Pennsylvania National Guard and depicts a Guardsman saying goodbye to his family. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The 2009 Butter Sculpture is seen at the 93rd annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. This year's sculpture is dedicated to the Pennsylvania National Guard and depicts a Guardsman saying goodbye to his family. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The butter sculpture is unveiled at the 93rd annual Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. This year's sculpture is dedicated to the Pennsylvania National Guard and depicts a Guardsman saying goodbye to his family. Unveiling the butter sculpture, from left, are: Nicole Wasson an alternate Dairy Princess from Centre County, Pa.; Dennis Wolff, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture; Jim Victor the sculptor; Leeann Kapanick Pennsylvania Dairy Princess from Crawford County, Pa., and Abby Trotter an alternate Dairy Princess from Lawrence County, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Rhonda Kieklak of Wattsburg, Pa., stands behind a butter sculpture depicting former President Dwight Eisenhower feeding an Angus calf after unveiling at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 4, 1996. The sculpture was carved from 800 pounds of butter.(AP Photo/Paul Vathis)
Harrisburg elementary school children view a sculpture made of butter after unveiling at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa. Thursday, Jan. 8, 1998. The sculpture is made of 800 pounds of donated butter and depicts a school cafeteria employee serving a student a meal made of food products produced in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Paul Vathis)
Dan Ross adds butter to his butter cow sculpture at the Ohio State Fair Friday, July 30, 1999, in Columbus, Ohio. Ross has been creating sculptures of a butter cow at the Fair since 1964. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)
FILE - In this Aug. 11, 1999, file photo, Norma "Duffy" Lyon works on her version of "The Last Supper", a sculpture in butter, at the Iowa State Fair, in Des Moines. Lyon, who famously sculpted butter into cows, Elvis and even Jesus for the Iowa State Fair, has died. She was 81. (AP Photo/Rodney White)
A sculpture made from nearly 1,000 pounds of butter that pays tribute to dairy farm families is displayed at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2009. The sculpture depicts a dairy cow, as well as a dairy farmer pouring a glass of milk at the breakfast table with his family. The sculpture, by sculptor Jim Victor, of Conshohocken, Pa., was crafted from butter donated by Land O' Lakes in Carlisle, Pa. The Pennsylvania Farm Show runs Jan. 9-16. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A sculpture made from nearly 1,000 pounds of butter that pays tribute to dairy farm families is displayed at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2009. The sculpture depicts a dairy cow at the breakfast table with a dairy farmer and his family. The sculpture, by sculptor Jim Victor, of Conshohocken, Pa., was crafted from butter donated by Land O' Lakes in Carlisle, Pa. The Pennsylvania Farm Show runs Jan. 9-16. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Seen is the Iowa State Fair butter cow sculpture Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. The 600 lb. sculpture made of butter will be on display at the state fair that runs Aug. 12-22. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Sarah Pratt, of West Des Moines, Iowa, works on the Iowa State Fair butter cow sculpture Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. The 600 lb. sculpture made of butter will be on display at the state fair that runs Aug. 12-22. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture is unveiled during a ceremony at the Farm Show complex Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
The 2014 Illinois State Fair butter cow is unveiled at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, in Springfield, Ill. The sculpture depicts a cow being milked by a boy who is waving to a woman. The 500-pound bovine is made of unsalted butter. Built from scratch, it has been an unofficial mascot of the fair since the 1920s. Fair organizers have said they're not changing security procedures after vandals threw paint on a butter cow at the Iowa state fair last year. The Illinois State Fair begins Friday, Aug. 8 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 17. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
Sarah Pratt works on a butter sculpture of actor Kevin Costner during final preparations for opening day of the Iowa State Fair, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, in Des Moines, Iowa. The Field of Dreams movie, celebrating it's 25th anniversary this year, was filmed in Iowa. The fair opens Thursday and runs through Aug. 17th. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Visitors to the Dairy Barn at the Illinois State Fair enjoy the Butter Cow exhibit Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. The Illinois State Fair will run through Aug. 18. The butter cow has been an unofficial icon of the fair since the 1920's. 800 pounds of unsalted butter are used to sculpt the life size figure by hand over a wire and wood frame. The process takes about two days. After the fair, the butter will be removed and reused in another sculpture. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
The 2013 Butter Sculpture is unveiled at the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 in Harrisburg, Pa. The 1,000-pound tableau, featuring milk and dairy items, grapes and wine, Christmas trees, and fruits and vegetables, pays tribute to the state's home-grown agricultural products. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
The Pennsylvania Farm Show Butter Sculpture is unveiled during a ceremony at the Farm Show complex Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)
The 2014 Illinois State Fair butter cow is unveiled at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, in Springfield, Ill. The sculpture depicts a cow being milked by a boy who is waving to a woman. The 500-pound bovine is made of unsalted butter. Built from scratch, it has been an unofficial mascot of the fair since the 1920s. Fair organizers have said they're not changing security procedures after vandals threw paint on a butter cow at the Iowa state fair last year. The Illinois State Fair begins Friday, Aug. 8 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 17. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
In this Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017, photo, Sarah Pratt works on a butter sculpture of author Laura Ingalls Wilder with her daughter Grace, left, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa. More than 1 million people typically visit the Iowa State Fair annually, and sometimes it seems like all of them are clustered around Butter Cow. The creamy creation has been among the state fair's top attraction since 1911. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
This Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, photo provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture shows a sculpture carved from a half-ton of butter in preparation for the 102nd Pennsylvania Farm Show, scheduled from Saturday, Jan. 6, through Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa. The sculpture unveiled Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, sponsored by the American Dairy Association North East (ADANE), reflects the show's theme this year, "Strength in our Diversity," by depicting a dairy cow; a dairy farmer, second from left; an agronomist who helps produce corn to feed dairy cows, left; a milk processor, second from right; and a consumer, right, carrying agriculture products from Pennsylvania. (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture via AP)
Show is the butter sculpture depicting the mascots for the Philadelphia Eagles' Swoop, left, Pittsburgh Steelers' Steely McBeam, center, and Philadelphia Flyers' Gritty during the 104th Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is the annual butter sculpture Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, Pa. Starting Saturday, thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the state capital for the 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show, a weeklong celebration agriculture and rural life. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is a detail of the annual butter sculpture Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg, Pa. Starting Saturday, thousands of visitors are expected to descend on the state capital for the 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show, a weeklong celebration agriculture and rural life. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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