DES MOINES, Iowa — Sampling the pork chop on a stick. Snapping a selfie with the butter cow. Taking questions about foreign policy from hecklers.

For those who would be president, a visit to the Iowa State Fair may be the purest distillation of the campaign experience in the state that starts the voting in the race for the White House.

The 10-day event starts Thursday and most of the 2016 hopefuls will pass through, pausing to chomp on deep-fried snack foods, visit with locals out for a day of fun and spending some time on the political “soapbox” to talk with voters.

If all goes well, the fair provides an opportunity for candid interaction with voters and shows off a side not often seen on TV. People fondly remember Barack Obama’s ride on the bumper cars with his family in 2007.

But in the increasingly stage-managed world of presidential politics, awkward moments and ill-timed soundbites can flow from this unscripted setting.