iStockphoto / VladimirFLoyd
The annual Husband Calling Contest at the Iowa State Fair recently took place with Wendy Bryce of Onawa, a town with less than 3,000 residents, winning it all.
If you are wondering what a ‘Husband Calling Contest’ is you are not alone but luckily we have clips from the peculiar contest, also, all the information you need is right there in the name! It consists of wives on stage, pretending to call for their husbands, in any way possible to get their husband’s attention.
Iowa State Fair Husband Calling Contest Crowns A Champion
The top 3 finishers in the 2025 Husband Calling Contest at the Iowa State Fair in order were Wendy Bryce of Onawa (1st), Linh Ta of Des Moines (2nd), and Jennifer Fritch from New Hope, Pennsylvania (3rd).
Something feels off about an outsider finishing in 3rd place at the Iowa State Fair annual competition instead of the top 3 spots being taken by Iowans. But such is life.
How It Works
Essentially, each ‘wife’ gets a turn on stage in front of the microphone. She is then to call for a husband, real or imagined, and do so in a way the judges deem to be the most attention-grabbing, more or less.
There is obviously a lot of subjectivity in a contest like this. But the judges are experts in their fields, presumably. And they crowned Wendy Bryce as champion:
Do I know anyone from Irving other than John Turturro’s character from Severance? No. Will I have that woman’s voice singing/screaming ‘Irrr-viiiiiinnnngggg’ stuck in my head all day now? I sure will.
If I was judging, I would’ve given the crown to the woman who turned calling ‘Richie’ into what sounded like the guttural call of a jungle parrot. But obviously the judges saw something else in the competitors.
Another clip from Indy100 hit Tiktok and went viral. It picked up 2.4 million views and counting in the past 6 days. If you have it in you to watch more of the Husband Calling Contest, that’s the best place to start.