ENTERTAINMENT / ATTRACTIONS
What's New
Year of Popcorn presented by Pop Weaver Popcorn – Did you know Indiana is the second leading popcorn producer in the nation? America’s favorite movie-watching snack means big business for many Hoosiers, and the fair will celebrate with several popcorn-related exhibits, activities and contests.
World’s Largest Popcorn Ball – While popcorn has become an “anytime” snack, popcorn balls are known more as a special snack often created for special occasions. The fair is going to make the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball and have it on display in the Ball State Ag/Hort Building throughout its 17-day run. The Guinness Book of World Records will be on hand Saturday, Aug. 3 for the ball's unveiling and official weighing. The current record is a 3,432 lb. ball built in 2007.
The Glass Barn: A Clear Look at the Farming Experience – The Indiana Soybean Alliance has designed and built a new barn on the fairgrounds’ north side, but this isn’t your typical Indiana barn. This 4,500 square foot glass-paneled barn is filled with interactive games and activities designed to educate visitors on how farming works and how food is produced. The $2 million facility will include satellite communications with working farms and will also be used year-round for the fairgrounds’ State’s Largest Classroom education program.
Youth Arena – This $10 million facility serves as a companion arena to the Fairgrounds Coliseum, which is in the process of a total interior renovation, and adjoins the Coliseum on its south side. With the ability to seat 500 to 1,000 spectators, the Youth Arena will house a wide variety of fair events.
Kiddie Land Midway – The State Fair Midway is always abuzz with lights, screams and laughter. Now, a new midway for the little tykes has been created on the fairgrounds east side that will offer families with young children their own special area to make some great State Fair memories. The new Kiddie Land Midway is located just inside Gate 6 off Fall Creek Parkway and offers more than a dozen different rides for small children.
Get Animated – Get Animated is an 8,000 square foot exhibit that explores the fascinating world of animation. This interactive experience takes visitors back to the classics of traditional hand drawn celluloid animation and highlights current day computer animation, including well known stories and characters from Pixar, Walt Disney, DreamWorks and Sony Animation. A large-scale custom 3-D Zoetrope – a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static pictures – is the centerpiece of the exhibit, which will be open every day of the fair inside the Grand Hall on Main Street.
Rosstyn Ice Shows – An outdoor ice show in August? Yes! Rosstyn Ice Shows, which has been touring the world for nearly 20 years presenting a variety of action-packed, family-fun shows, will have three to four daily performances during the fair. Each performance will take place on a 40-by-40 skating rink in Dow AgroSciences Celebration Park on the fairgrounds’ northwest side. The rink is covered by a clear-span, engineered tent with bleacher seating for up to 800 spectators.
Sinbad High Dive Show – Family fun reaches its peak, literally, at the Sinbad High Dive show as Sinbad and his band of gold seekers search for the fabled Golden Apple. The adventure includes lots of laughs and, ultimately, a plunge into the “ocean” from 80 feet in the air. This slapstick group has three or four shows each day of the fair in the Family Fun Park.
Great American Frontier Show – Buffalo, horses, oxen and wolves are all part of this family-friendly celebration of life in the Old West. Visitors will see how our ancestors built the West with only animals for transport and crop raising. There’s also trick riding on horseback and wolves that perform on command. Cowboys in character, western music and storytelling around the campfire round out this western experience that will have up to four shows daily in the Family Fun Park.
Indiana State Fair Vocal Throwdown – The Indiana State Fair is holding its first-ever open singing competition complete with cash prizes and an opportunity to perform at the fair (official rules posted Here). All entries will be submitted on video and the public will vote on the top five in both divisions. The preliminary round will be on the Main Street Stage Saturday, Aug. 3 with the finalists vying for top honors Saturday, Aug. 10.
World’s Toughest Rodeo – There will be lots of ridin’, ropin’ and clownin’ around going on Aug. 5 – 6 when the World’s Toughest Rodeo visits the fair for four shows in the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand. Bucking broncs and bulls with an attitude will test the courage of the 12 competing cowboys until a champion is crowned. Compelling music and production make this an entertaining family show for city folk and ranch hands alike. Show times are 2 and 7 p.m. each day.
Indiana State Fair App – The Indiana State Fair App has been redesigned and updated for a better user experience. Available for both iOS and Android phones, the new app has several different maps for visitors to plan their trip and locate their favorite fair food booths and exhibits. It even has a new built-in sharing mechanism that allows users to post comments and photos to their Facebook and Twitter networks. Users will also receive special announcements and discount opportunities.
STEM Days (Aug. 13 – 16) – Educators looking to enhance their students’ classroom curriculum in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math with a free, fun, interactive experience can bring their kids to the fair! Developed around 7th through 12th grade learning standards, students will explore the “Glass Barn;” investigate the design and movement of the Ferris Wheel; solve the unknowns of the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball; and create animation at the “Get Animated” exhibit.
ISF Celebration Awards – Agriculture and youth are two of the most important parts of the Indiana State Fair. The Celebration Awards highlight both as 4-H’ers receive monetary recognition for growing and raising the best projects in the state. The ceremony is in the takes the place of the traditional 4-H Sale of Champions.
3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment: “The Old Guard” – Patriotism will be on display loud and proud Aug. 8 – 10 as the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” performs traditional patriotic tunes dating back to the American Revolution. The only unit of its kind in the armed forces, the 69-member Corps performs traditional field music like “Washington’s Artillery March” and “Yankee Doodle” in Colonial-style tricorn hats, white wigs and red greatcoats with 10-hold fifes, hand-made rope-tensioned drums and single valve bugles. Various performances will take place in the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand, Marsh Free Stage and in the Daily Parade.
“FAIRs Care” hunger relief effort – In partnership with Indiana County fairs, Elanco and Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., the Indiana State Fair has launched “FAIRs Care” in an effort to eliminate hunger. For every donation made to a participating County fair (minimum $3 in canned goods or monetary support), the Indiana State Fair, Elanco and Indiana Farm Bureau will provide two State Fair admission tickets good for any day of the fair. In addition, on Sunday, Aug. 18, the organizations will award eight $500 donations to county fairs that have successfully completed the food drive and helped their county’s hunger relief efforts.
Boy Scouts of America Legacy Stage – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) joined up with the fair in 2010 when it built the Boy Scouts Legacy Bridge on the fairgrounds’ east side in honor of their 100th anniversary. That was the beginning of an entire encampment area used throughout the year. Now, BSA is adding a performance stage to the area that will be used for various activities and demonstrations throughout the fair.
