Canstruction: One Can Make a Difference in Tomato Country® - All 17 days in the Ball State Ag/Hort Building. Created by the Society for Design Administration, teams of architects, engineers and students compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food that ultimately will be donated to the Gleaners Food Bank. Ten different design teams will begin building their 10’ x 10’ x 8’ structures on Aug. 7 from 9 am - 10 pm. Judging and awards will be given for different categories (overall, structural integrity, best meal, honorable mention, best use of labels, and special tomato award for best use of Red Gold labels) on Aug. 8. All the exhibits will remain on display in the building throughout the run of the fair. Red Gold will co-sponsor the Canstruction event and will donate over 20,000 pounds of tomato products.
Tomato Patch Gazebo Gift Shoppresented Red Gold – Located in the heart of the fairgrounds near the main entrance to the midway, the Gazebo Gift Shop will be adorned with giant tomatoes growing on equally enormous vines. Inside, visitors will find all sorts of fair souvenirs and momentos, including many tomato-related items.
Indiana State Fair Tomato Signature Foods – Tomato-based foods will be a part of the 2009 Annual Indiana State Fair signature food contest. Presented by The Indianapolis Star and the Indiana State Fair, the public will vote on this year’s new signature State Fair food in celebration of the Year of Tomatoes presented by Red Gold.
Tomato Trivia of the Day – Each day at noon, Fair visitors will hear an interesting piece of tomato trivia or fun joke over the State Fairgounds' Public Address system.
Indiana State Fair Celebrity Tomato Toss Contest – Wed., Aug. 19 at 3 pm in Pioneer Village. Celebrities, such as First Lady Cheri Daniels and local media personalities, will test his or her throwing skills as they compete in this year’s Celebrity Tomato Toss. Everyone will get three chances to toss a tomato and try to hit the bulls-eye, skewering their tomato on the center spike. The celebrity whose tomato is closest to the center and remains on the spike the longest will be crowned Tomato Toss Titan.
Salsa Dance Contest – Sun., Aug. 9 in Celebration Park – part of Hispanic/Latino Music Day and will last approximately 3 hours. From May through August, every Thursday night semi-finals will be held at the Jazz Kitchen for adults. The winning couple from each semi-final night will go on to compete in the finals at the State Fair (12 total couples). During the finals, dancers will compete for top prize money in Celebration Park. The contest is open to everyone. No entry fee is required to participate. There will also be a kids salsa contest during the day. Participants can show up at the Fair and register on site with parent’s permission/signature.
Largest Tomato Contest – 10 am, Sat., Aug. 8 in Ball State Ag/Hort – Any tomato grower can enter their 5 lbs or larger tomato in the Indiana State Fair’s Largest Tomato Contest to compete for prize money.
Special Agriculture Food Contest featuring tomatoes– noon, Fri., Aug. 7 in Home & Family Arts Building. Anyone can enter a food item, such as pies, appetizers, salsa, salads, or juice, in this contest. Must use either fresh, canned, frozen or dried tomatoes.
Tomato décor - around the grounds
Red Head Contest – 10 am - 4 pm, Mon., Aug. 17 in Farm Bureau Building - part of Kids Day activities
Red Gold Salsa Recipe Contest - Open to the general public, this contest challenges everyone to create their best salsa using Red Gold canned tomatoes. The judging takes place Friday, Aug. 20 in the Home & Family Arts Building’ culinary arts kitchen. The winner receives $500; 2nd place wins a year’s supply of Red Gold tomato products; 3rd place wins a Red Gold gift basket.
Normandy Barn/Greenhouse - Throughout the fair, visitors can learn about the different stages of growing tomatoes in the Greenhouse and find all of Indiana's local tomato growers on a large, permanent Indiana map in the Normandy Barn.
Canstruction: One Can Make a Difference in Tomato Country® - All 17 days in the Ball State Ag/Hort Building. Created by the Society for Design Administration, teams of architects, engineers and students compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food that ultimately will be donated to the Gleaners Food Bank. Ten different design teams will begin building their 10’ x 10’ x 8’ structures on Aug. 7 from 9 am - 10 pm. Judging and awards will be given for different categories (overall, structural integrity, best meal, honorable mention, best use of labels, and special tomato award for best use of Red Gold labels) on Aug. 8. All the exhibits will remain on display in the building throughout the run of the fair. Red Gold will co-sponsor the Canstruction event and will donate over 20,000 pounds of tomato products. 