57 Things We All Love About The Indiana State Fair

I am originally from Indiana, which is located in the Midwest.

Not only is Indiana the place where Steak 'n Shake is considered the greatest restaurant in the world, but Indiana is also widely known for its large contribution to the United States Agriculture. For the most part, Indiana grows corn and soybeans, but they also grow a lot of apples, pumpkins, cherries, squash, and many vegetables.

Last week, I took my yearly trip to Indianapolis where the Indiana State Fair was being hosted. Each year, the fair goes off a theme with this year being about Wonderful World of Food. Here in Indiana, we grow, sell, and cook a wide range of foods and at the fair is where we show off our stuff, but there are 50 other things to love about it.

1. Sarah Kaufman "The Cheese Lady" Cheese Sculpture

2. The Light Up the Night Parade around the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand

3. Band Day, where all the schools over the state come together to compete. Battle of the Bands anyone?

4. The "Always Popular" Favorite, the Cheerleading Competition

5. Indiana State Fair Championship Rodeo

6. The World's Largest Pigs and runner ups

7. The Monster Truck Madness

8. The cute litter of piglets and the mothers. Awwww!

9. Free popcorn from the Farm Bureau Building

10. The Midway arch way!

11. The Crowd Favorite Corn on the Cob

12. The Deep Fried Food, such as Fried Oreos

13. The Lights on the Giant Ferris Wheel

14. $2 Tuesdays! $2 entry and $2 selected food items throughout the fair

15. The Saddle Horses Showing in the Pop Weaver Youth Pavilion

16. The delicious elephant ears

17. The livestock Nursery

18. The amazing new Skyride going down Main Street.

19. Indiana Grown Marketplace

20. Hook's Drug Store Ice Cream Sodas and Sundaes

21. Turkey Legs... the mounds of Turkey Legs

22. The fair train from Fishers, Indiana to the State Fair

23. Krispy Kreme's Doughnut Burger! YUM

24. The Free Stage Concerts each night

25. Feeling like a proud Hoosier walking around the fairgrounds.

26. The kick off of the Giant Hot Air Ballon Race

27. Seeing who received awards for the best farming, animal, plant, you name it!

28. The freshly made corn dogs

29. The cooking demos every hour

30. Deciding which food items you are getting and in which order of importance

31. Taking home a bag of salt water taffy

32. Fried Vegetable bucket

33. Hoping on the Fair Train for $1

34. Hedrick's Racing Pigs

35. Learning the process of milking a cow properly

36. Window shopping the many hot tub models on display

37. Instagramming and snapping your way through the fair

38. Learning how agriculture impacts our lives every day

39. The Hunter's Honey booth in the Purdue Extension Building

40. Purchasing the large over priced root beer

41. Listening to the Hispanic band play covers of popular songs

42. Having fun at the fair with family and friends

43. The excitement of the kids have a ball in the Midway

44. Patting yourself on the back for wearing closed shoes through the animal exhibits because there's Poo everywhere)

45. Taking a selfie with the billy goats and llamas

46. Indiana local breweries and winery samples

47. Lining up for the new rides

48. Lemonade Shake-ups Souvenir Cups

49. Singing at the top of your lungs to a concert

50. Walking through the State Fair Gates

51. Eating funnel cake for dinner

52. The colorful parades and floats moving about

53. People-watching like its a sport

54. The only time the weather behaves with sunny rays and light clouds for shade.

55. Sirloin Tips Pita served with steak, mushrooms, peppers, onions, and creamy rustic mashed potatoes.

56. Watching and learning about the Early 1900s tractors demonstrations

57. Eating cotton candy as big as your head

All in all, if you haven't been to Indiana, the State Fair is a perfect excuse to go. From delicious foods to a homey feel you won't get anywhere else, the Indiana State Fair is a must-do.

Photo by Matthew Miner on Unsplash