Iowa State Fair husband calling contest winner channeled 'Ice Ice Baby' into her call

Seven competitors took part in one of the most iconic and unique competitions the Iowa State Fair is nationally recognized for: the husband calling contest .

“GARYYYYYYYYY!” one contestant cried. “IRRRRRR-VIN!!” another one sang in her highest soprano timbre.

But even though all seven contestants sang, screamed and screeched their hearts out, only one reigned victorious: Wendy Bryce.

Bryce, who is from Onawa, took first place with her call for her husband, Risty, with a unique twist that combined musical theater, '90s rap and tap dancing.

"Risty, Risty darling, calling, calling, it's your wife," Bryce began singing. "It's time to come in the house for dinner."

Then she busted out into a verse inspired by the ’90s hit "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice.

"Stop, collaborate and listen, it's your wife and she needs your attention," she rapped. "Dinner is up on the table, so get your butt out here and get out of the stables."

She then serenaded the judges and spectators with more than just her words, busting some moves and bringing on the tap shoes.

She ended her call to her husband, who sat smiling in the audience, with an attitude.

"Stop milking the cow and stop feeding that sow!" she screamed, then continued with a sing-song voice. "It's time to come to dinner! Right! Nowww!"

After hearing she had won first place, she performed an encore and pointed to Risty, who was wearing a bright red shirt that said, "I'm the husband," and screamed "I LOVE YOU!" to him.

This was Bryce's second year competing in the husband calling contest; in 2023 she took fourth place.

"I've always wanted to do this ever since I was a little kid," she told the Des Moines Register after her win. "So then last year I competed, and then I was just like, 'Let's just see how it goes.' And then I just figured that if you show up once, you gotta just keep showing up, you know?"

But hearing comments last year about how she was "too loud" and "too aggressive," she changed her course of action to prepare for this year. She had her family, her childhood acting teacher and her students from Sioux City schools help her.

"I got lots of feedback from people ... but the ultimate goal is to put on a good performance for the people who come and watch," she said. "I think just seeing the smiles on their faces and when they clap for you ... it's just awesome."

Now, with a blue ribbon under her belt, she's eager to bring something different next year.

"I'm gonna bring something new every year," she said. "So there's a whole new routine coming your way in 2025."

Last year, now 96-year-old Bonnie Eilert came in first in the contest , adding to her wide collection of blue ribbons from the fair going back more than 40 years, when the husband calling contest first began. This year, she out-clucked 14 others in the ladies chicken calling contest. She took sixth place in this year's husband calling contest.

More: This 96-year-old just clucked her way to win the Iowa State Fair's chicken calling contest

"I know it's the same old stuff, fried eggs and ham all the time, but that's all I know how to do," Eilert said in a pleading tone before launching into her signature call: "Roy... ROYYYYYYYY! ROYYYYY!"

The husband calling contest became a national sensation in 2022 after a video of an old Iowa PBS segment that included the contest garnered 3 million likes on TikTok.

"We've had it forever," Regina Pirtle, Pioneer Hall’s superintendent, said to the crowd. "And all of a sudden it's blossomed into something that they look forward to all over the United States."

2023's contest saw it's largest crowd the contest has ever drawn, Pirtle said last year. The crowd was smaller this year but the energy was just as high and the calls just as loud.

"I know a lot of people look at this and don't know what husband calling is," Bryce said. "They're just like, 'That is ridiculous. What is happening in Iowa?'

"It's to bring smiles to your faces. It's to bring joy. It's meant to be a fun thing."

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com .

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State Fair husband calling contest winner channeled 'Ice Ice Baby' into her call