TheIndiana State Fairruns from August 5th-21st , and is essentially Disneyland with cattle . And tractor parades . And electrocute foods . And old rock ring you thought were dead . If this sounds like all the trappings of Midwestern playfulness , check out these totally essential , wholly not random fair facts you ’ll have to see to trust .
It’s, like, super-old
The Fair has engage its sprawling , near - Downtown campus “ only ” since 1892 , but the festivities began right smart back in 1852 . Back then , the first variant took seat in Downtown Indy – or what passed for Downtown at the sentence – making the Indiana State Fair the sixth - oldest in the state .
You have – and desperately need – to walk it
If you need to see everything the 250 - acre complex offers , wear comfortable shoes . Pounding the pavement should help oneself Fair guests cauterise off the close to 14,000lbs of pork chop shot , 56,000 costa - optic steaks , 20,000 tons of sparkler cream , and 3,400lbs of smoke sausage balloon consume annually on the grounds . ( Fair officials do not calculate total cholesterol head … but who cares ? )
You’re probably going to put things in your stomach that you won’t be proud of
Visitors can vote on the concessionnaires ’ top culinary world at the A Taste of the Fair competition , but do n’t expect any arugula to top the chart . Nominees include BBQ rive pork beer cheeseflower fries ; bison cheeseflower steak rolls ; deep - fry s’mores ; and live beef sundae . If you ’re bet for subtle interplays of spicery and ingredient , look elsewhere .
The musical offerings are … eclectic
The price of admission also gets you into concert at the Indiana State Fair Free Stage . This year ’s musical grab bag admit Blues Traveler , an ABBA cover band , and , for some reason , The Bacon Brothers . No , they did n’t just shove “ Roger Bacon ” in their name ( because bacon makes everything salutary ) – it ’s actually Kevin Bacon ( ofFootloosefame ) and his sidekick Michael ( of no discernible fame ) jamming together like they have since 1995 . Partake of theweirdnesson Aug 13th at 7:30pm .
You might have to dodge tractors
Most day at 6:30pm , the farmers in attendance will terminate up somewhat much every antique tractor on the property ( spoiler qui vive : there are quite a few ) anddrive them direct through the most crowded section of the grounds . It ’s a military greeting to Indiana ’s agrarian heritage , and also to the awe-inspiring fact that they ’ve done this parade for years and so far no one ’s been fly the coop over . criticize on wood .
You can drink and paint
The Indiana Beer , Wine & liquor Exhibit showcases the product of scads of Indiana brewers , wineries , and distillers – most of which are uncommitted for tastings and sale by the field glass . If you want some culture with your buzz , try the Taste & Create program . For $ 35 ( fair admission included ) , you could try local beers while paint a scene – using soybean - base acrylic rouge , of course .
They’ve got the world’s biggest boar, which is large in more ways than one
Every year in the Swine Barn ( an actual billet you may chat , though you might want to hold up your nose ) , you ’ll witness a minivan - sized male pig weigh in excess of 1,000lbs . He does n’t move around much – perhaps because his ball are roughly the size of basketballs .
Speaking of animals, watch your back in the animal barns
really , “ barn ” does n’t do Department of Justice to the massive building lodging cow , pig , wimp , sheep , rabbits , llamas , and other furry creatures . Be advised that the kidskin minding the farm animal sometimes exit the clip by tying rubber spiders to fishing telephone line , attaching them to terminal , and then dextrously perching them on the shoulder joint of passersby . ( This , of row , ishilariouswhen it ’s not happening to you . ) This prank has been murder ’em since the ‘ 60s . The 1860s , that is .
The Coliseum’s full of horses, but it used to be full of Beatles
There ’s an perfectly insane turn of horse show at the Indiana Farmer ’s Coliseum . badly , if you go in there anddon’tsee a knight show , alarm the authorities . The horses did take a break once for The Beatles , who performed at the Coliseum during their skinny - crosstie - and - bowl - haircut period ( around 1964 ) .
A quaint little building on the edge of the property was once used for an extremely dark purpose
The innocent social structure was formerly called the Better Babies Building in the ‘ 20s and ‘ XXX , where parents could have their offspring judged for physical and genial physical fitness as if they were farm animal . Eugenics was bragging at the time , and Indiana was waaaaay into the estimation of using selective bringing up to bring forth children free of “ defective ” societal and behavioral trait . This practice was break once the Nazis came along , and the building was put to well use .
Remember that quaint little building with a dark history? It’s now a soda fountain!
Open year - round , theHook ’s Drug Store Museumoffers a startlingly comprehensive compartmentalization of previous - timey confect and a full - service soda outflow . The highly gregarious voluntary staff will happily flick you a Green River or a black moo-cow or any turn of other fizzing drinks that you ’d be getting very excited about right now if you were 70 .
The 4-H livestock competitions are total YouTube bait
Each day at the Fair bestow multiple probability to watch little boys with buzz cuts and cowboy kick , and small girls with pigtails and cowboy hats , struggle to coax uproariously disobliging sheep , squealer , cows , Capricorn , chicken , and llamas around show rings . Have your headphone ready for action in caseful thing go south .
You can watch veterinary surgery
The folks at the Purdue veterinary display do live spaying and neuterings of dogs and CT inside a glass - surround surgical retinue that ’s literally sit down in the middle of an exhibition hall . There are even benches set up so passersby can take a load off and ascertain poor Tabby get her thermionic tube tied , if you fancy that kind of thing .
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Hook’s Drug Store Museum
