The most novel new attraction at the Iowa State Fair isn't some fried food monstrosity or Midway ride, but a tent where kids can get away from the endless stalls of livestock and blue-ribbon vegetables and play some good old-fashioned video games.

In a red tent near the north entrance to the fair, adjacent to the Kids Zone, gaggles of children line up to enter a tent where a variety of Nintendo Switch games are available .

A row of chairs placed before a large screen allow for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe competitions. A variety of screens placed throughout the multi-level tent offer test runs of accessible Switch games like Super Mario Maker 2, Splatoon 2, Pokemon Lets Go and more.

The tent, filled with blasting fans and covered by a red awning that casts a scarlet glow about the proceedings, sticks out at the agriculturally focused fair that leans heavily on tradition.

The Iowa State Fair is just one of 16 state fairs scheduled on the Nintendo Switch Road Trip, part of a coordinated strategy to bring the relief of technological amusement to locations with more analog attractions. It's the first stand-alone event of this nature Nintendo has held in the state of Iowa, according to the event's coordinator, Reb Powers.

The Nintendo Switch tent can hold up to 80 people and has a wide range of Switch consoles that can be used on their own along with those projected on television displays.

A free rewards program facilitated by those working the tent prompts curious kids to try out six different games and fill out their "passport" with the promise of a reward that includes paper fans and an activity poster. Those who post about the experience on social media can get a limited-edition pin.

Ashley Conrad of Wellman, Iowa, camps at the fairgrounds every year with her family and they attend the fair daily. She brought her three boys, between the ages of 4 and 10, to the tent because it was "something new" among the mainstay attractions.

The tent is interactive and engaging for the boys while Conrad likes it for cool atmosphere out of the sun. She predicted that the tent would be a daily stop for their family.

"If we even get out of here today," she joked, watching over the boys gathered around several Switch consoles.

When Eli, her oldest, was asked what he thought of the Switch tent, he had only one word to describe the experience: "Cool."

Aaron Calvin covers trending news for the Register. Reach him at acalvin@registermedia.com or 515-556-9097.

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