July 24, 2025 • 21 mins
CoolKay and Countyfairgrounds.net pre-event interview the Indiana State Fair 2025... we talk with Leroy Lewis - Communications Director about the Indiana State Fair coming up August 1st thru the 17th, the fairgrounds is closed on Mondays... The theme this year is "Soundtrack of Summer"
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We were Lewis County Tadgrounds in cool k Here. How
are you, mister Lewis Indiana State Fairs coming up? It's
August first through the seventeenth. Are you the fair manager?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
No? I am a director of Community and media engagement.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
That's good, okay, all right? So the first question I
have when I do these fair interviews, and the first
question that comes to mine as a public person is
where do we park? And what's the best parking?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
All right? Are you? We are half a new gate
Gate five for all southbound traffic coming off Fall Creek
should use to get into our infield parking lot, but
we have multiple gates available our parking lot and our
south lot is right off of thirty eighth Street, across
from our Gate one main entrance. We also have the
(00:47):
Deaf School parking lot that we also use for overflow,
and that is off of forty second Street right behind
the fair. And then of course our infield parking lot,
which is our main parking lot inside of the fairground.
Three of those parking lots will be available to you
through the fair. Parking is ten dollars for vehicles, but
any one of those parking will get you into the
(01:09):
figure grounds.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Okay, I'm a handicapped person, an old senior. Where should
I park?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We have ada parking inside the fairgrounds. So once you
get inside the fairgrounds, come either through Gate five or
Gate one and they will donate tell you where eighty
A parking is the nearest that is not filled up.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Okay, all right, So do you have a pickup service
for the the handicapped people to get to the gate.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
We do not have a pickup service for handicaps to
get to the gate, unfortunately. Not we were we would
assume that they have chairs or strollers or they would
use to get through. We do have scooter and wheelchair
rental available at a couple of our gates, but we
do not provide that.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Okay, So I'm coming in through one of the gates
and the first thing that crosses my mind is restrooms.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, we have restrooms all over the campus. So depending
on which side and what area you are in, we
should have restrooms that will be able to accommodate you.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
All right, So Paul's I'm coming in through one of
these gates and I got a bunch of kids under twelve.
What should I do first?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, you should purchase their tickets. All children under the
eighty five were getting free, but those twelve year olds
will need to purchase a ticket as well. Hopefully you'll
go online and purchase those tickets ahead of time so
you don't have to worry about trying to pull any
of that out and pull any funds out while you're
going through the ticket gates. But you'll need to purchase
those tickets and then enjoy the fair.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
All right. What about a fair math? Do you have
fair maps that you hand out when they come through
the gates?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
We sure do. Each of our we call them info booths.
We'll have fares available, maps available of all of the
food that we have. We'll have daily maps or maps
with our daily schedules attached to them so that you'll
know exactly what's going on during the fair that particular
(03:09):
day that you're there. And then we also have maps
with some five dollars menu options for you as well.
All of that available on all of our info booths,
and we have four info booths around the fair, but
you also can get them at the intrygates.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Okay, all right, so that is one of the first
things that crosses my mind. What about an application? What
about an application.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Do you have one of those an application?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah, you know, a lot of a lot of the
fairacy have applications that you can download the good information. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Fortunately, the fair, the state Indiana, say Fair, has not
graduated to using an event app yet, so we don't
have that yet. But we do have our website, and
our website is doing a great service for us. We
are making sure that it's updated in real time is possible.
So we do want our fair goers to use our
(04:03):
website as well as our social media paces, so Instagram, Facebook,
We are updating that every moment we can to let
our fair girlers know what's going on. So, unfortunately we
haven't upgraded to the application yet, but we still are
the opportunity to update our fair goers on our apps.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Okay, all right, so I'm coming in through the gate
and I'm an old person. What should I do first?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well, I'm not gonna call you, oh, but what I
definitely will say is just to try to get there early.
We want to encourage all of our fair goers, especially
those that might be moving a little slower than most,
to get to the fair a little early so that
they're not having to deal with a lot of foot
traffic and a lot of crowd to try to get
through the gates. We want them to get through safely.
(04:49):
But then also once you get in, if you're going
to need one of those scooters or wheelchairs, to find
one of those vendors and try to get those and
so you can be able to get through the fair
and around the grounds the as possible. We also have
trolleys that go around the fairgrounds. So we have a
free trolley service that goes around our fairgrounds.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
That's cool, Benis or Soul, you'll see one. So if
you want to go from one side of the campus
to the other, which I hope they do, to jump
on one of those trolleys and they will be able
to get you around.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, okay, that's that sounds really cool. All right, So
what about strolling entertainment. Let's talk strolling entertainment. Let's strolling
on the grounds.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh well, this year we are having we call Mighty
mic Is gonna be one of our entertainers on the grounds.
We also have what's new for us this year. It's
called Iconic and they are doing a a what do
you call glass blowing workshops that we can make your
own jewelry. We'll have filt walkers as well. We have
(05:52):
the band coming through. We also have the fairgrounds parade
that happens every day, so those are always going to
be those those type of entertainers that will be around
the grounds. We don't have any of that just walk
around other than those stilt workers. But you have Mike
that would be all on the grounds outside doing the
shows a few times a day. Also, we have uh
(06:15):
carving uh station or uh that would be doing some
stuff a couple of times free times to during the day.
So the stilt walkers will be the only ones that
are actually be moving and roaming the grounds as well
as the parade.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, all right, do you have you have four chers
you're there too.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
We have many four rachers. Well, again, this is the
State's Fairs. So all of those counties that have participated
in any of the exhibits and the competition, they are
vying to get here, uh to the State Fair for
the final competition and to get their blue ribbons. But
our four ates exhibit hall is on our south side
(06:55):
of campus, So if you are wanting to come over here,
please to the south side of campus. And I'm sorry,
the north side of campus and see our four h
building where you'll see all the exhibits that all of
our fourches around the state have are putting in that
have won their counties. But we also, of course have
livestock shows. So the livestock shows are going to be
(07:17):
one of the many continued traditions that we push here
in the fairgrounds. And we have a lot of competition
for our fourchers for the livestock.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Okay, all right, so your website says one hundred free
things to do, so we want to elaborate in that
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, if you want to go through all the one hundred,
that's fine. So once you come into the fair, once
you pay your admission, I mean, there is so much
that you can do while you're here. And again you
can go to our website Indiana State Fair dot com
to see all one hundred of those. But a few
that are really kind of stick out to me that
I really like people to think about again as doc
(07:58):
Dogs presented by the Triple Who's your Motor Club? That's
been a real popular one. Petting baby goats has always
been a popular one. Pioneer Village is always something that
we push people to to get onto the north side
of campus. And then you again we have new Mighty
Mic shows again that I mentioned earlier. And then we
also want to make sure that we tell people about
our majors exhibit this year is called the Art of
(08:20):
Music Experience inside of the Vinyl Revival. That's going to
be in our Harvest Pavilion. That's also free for those
and that's going to be one of those experiences that
takes us back to when album covers were really popular.
So we have some really large scale album cover art
that we're displaying in that Art of Music Experience. And
then you know, we have the free stage every day,
(08:42):
so every evening, if you're here with your family or
your friends, you can partake in the Who's Your Lottery
free stage entertainment that will be happening every evening that's
seven thirty. So again I don't want to go through
and spoil everything for everyone, So we also want them
to get to our website and go visit that one
hundred free three to do a page on our site.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay, all right, so you have something here that kind
of interests me. The Wolves of the World. What's that?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, again, that's one of those free things that that
we had come up this year. It is an opportunity
for a wolf pack to be seen up close and personal.
It demonstrates, you know, the national behaviors of wolves and
their alertness. And so we are having a couple of
those shows every day at four and six thirty pm.
(09:33):
So we want to make sure that those aren't looked
at as scary, but they also are majestic creatures as well,
so we want people to come and see those. We
do have two extra shows on the weekend, so twelve
and two o'clock as well on Friday through Sunday, but
during the week we only have two at four and
six thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Okay, so there's a lot of free stuff to do
in here. What well, yeah, I would hope so, but
what kind of paid things for day during the day
and is available things that people have to pay for with?
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh, well, if they want to experience a little bit more,
they can do. So we have the circus that is
coming back to town. There is it is also free
with an admission to the fair, but you can pay
five dollars for an upgrade charge that can get you
a little what you call a fast path that gets
(10:31):
you into the tent a little bit quicker, and then
you also have the opportunity approaching and purchasing a box
of four for individuals for eighty dollars. If you want
to have a group of four people go in and
then you have that, you can upgrade your tickets for
that or upgrade get upgraded tickets for that. You can
also get upgraded tickets for our reshows at the Who's
Your Lot of Refree stage if you want to enjoy
(10:53):
that as a VIP and through a premium price, you
can do that as well. And then Iconic again. The
new glass blowing experience that we have with the fair
this year is offering opportunity for you to come blow
your own trinkets. There's a few things that they get
you you can choose from that you can then make
yourself and take home with you, and that also comes
(11:15):
with an additional charge. You've got a.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Corn eating competition. What's that?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Well, it is just that how many ears of corn
can you eat in eight minutes? And I believe it's
so you don't want to miss that opportunity. So if
you love corn on the cob like I do, you
want to go ahead and get put into that and
try your luck and see if you're the best corn
eater in the state of Indiana. Now, again, this is Indiana,
(11:43):
so corn eating is something that we take seriously here
at the Indiana State Fair. So we're hoping that we
get a lot of people interested in that. But yes,
it's basically just eating corner cobs. How many can you eat?
It's not gonna be the most flavorful. I'm told that
you don't put a whole lot of butter salt on
these particular on so you might it might not be
the most tasty corns that you eat, but you definitely
(12:04):
will fill you up.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
What is your favorite fair food?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
My favorite fair food? I'm always gonna go with a
corn dog foot long if I can. Uh, That's what
I'm gonna start with. I also will then go and
get a funnel cake. A couple of years ago they
had this new funnel cake. It's part of our Taste
of the Fair where they put it some apple butter
on it and some other things. And now I'm hooked
on those funnel cakes that have a little bit more
(12:29):
syrupy sweetness on top of it. My wife doesn't like it,
but so I'm only allowed to get one tourst the fairs,
but it is definitely something that I'm looking forward to.
And then you gotta shake, you gotta swallow a levon
shakeup behind it so you you hit that sweet with
that sweet. So those are the three things that I
look forward to every year. But we have the Taste
(12:49):
of the Fair competition presented by PEPSI every year as well,
So there's at least five things on that that I
always try to try.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Okay, so you have a midway is the midway tickets
in the are ible include with the admission price.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Uh, they are not no, so you you are able
to purchase tickets ahead of time to go and use
the midway rides and participate in the games and such.
You all right, now, we have discounted risk bands available
on our website, so again an opportunity for individuals to
get a discounted UH risk bands. But also on two
(13:22):
dollars Tuesdays, all of our rides are two dollars per ticket.
Then they have two dollars food options as well, so
we allow a lot of people try to take advantage
of that opportunity if they can on a Tuesday. So
we try to make it affordable. This is the best
value of the summer. You get so much free things.
But sometimes there is a up charge and a little
(13:45):
bit more for some of those premium experiences, and we
try to mitigate that with things like two dollars Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
What's pioneer Village?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Pion Your village is taking you back. So think about
Indie in the eighteen hundreds. That is where we are
seeing pioneered village. So what was rural Indiana like in
the eighteen hundreds? I don't know, do you? No, you
(14:15):
have the opery house, you have an antique tractor exhibition exhibit.
You can see some farm toys, you can see people
making horseshoes, you can see some metal being hammered in.
But it is an opportunity for you to take a
blast into the past of rural Indiana in the eighteen hundreds.
(14:36):
So it's something. It's one of those things where you
are immersed and our volunteers for that particular exhibit is
are immersed into their roles so they do not break
those But we have a really cool exhibit every year
and this year is not going to disappoint.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, all right, So you have entertainers, I would imagine
during the day and also at night. So what kind
of free entertainment do you have during the day.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Again, all of our entertainment, for the most part is
free with a fair emission. Again, we have the circus
that is free with fair emission with upgrade tickets that
are available. The hoosil O Free Auto Free Stage is
free for patrons as well. You can also go into
the Family Fun Park. We have a basketball court, we
(15:24):
have a splash pad. All of our live stocks are available,
so all of those things. The grandstand may have a
couple of entertainment pieces that could be depending on the
particular show, be free, but also might have an upgraded
charge as well, So all of those things are free.
And again just thinking about livestock experience, going to see
(15:46):
the livestock that's also free. Seeing Mighty Might that's also free.
You can watch the cornet in competition if you choose
not to participate, that's also free. So there's a lot
of things that we are giving an option to for
our fair goers that again are comes with the price
of admission. But again sometimes there's an upgraded experience available
(16:09):
if they want to take advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Okay, all right, well, you know, different fair grounds to
the country do things differently, and depending also on what
part of the country, things are a little bit different here,
all right, So what about evening entertainment?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
What do we act? So evening entertainment again is probably
going to take advantage of our FuG lottery free stage.
We open up our first day, August first, with Three
Dog Night free for all of our fares goers with
the price of admission. We have other acts that are
coming on every evening at seven point thirty again Three
(16:47):
Dog Knight starts us off and Marvin Sap ends us
off on the last Sunday of the fair. And in
between we have national acts like Baby's Faith, Happy Together,
Long Star, Militia Rich. Then we have a couple of
superstars that are coming down, movie stars that have bands
that are going to be gracing our stage as well
this year, and that's Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers
(17:09):
as well. We have a lot of people that are
looking forward to those individuals participating in the free stage.
And then you know, you have the Thomas Nicholas Band
in nineteen sixty four, who is a tribute band for
the Beatles. So again, Nightly Entertainment and then if you
(17:30):
want to take on those shows, those were free. But
also you can go spend your time in the Midway
as well.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Okay, Midway Rise and Attraction. Oh you got a skyride,
that's cool.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Not all the fears have that, No, they don't. Our
sky rides one side of our main street to the other.
It is a ticketed ride, but it does allow you
the opportunity to see the fair from a few hundred
feet in the air, so it gives you opportunity to
see different perspective that everyone is not able to do.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
All right, there's a lot of stuff here for kids
to do. What do you think the best thing for
the seniors is to do?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
The best thing for the seniors is to enjoy time
with your family and your friends. To reconnect with those
that you love. UH. To to build and to strengthen
your relationships over women, shake up, To experience food that
you may have never thought you would want to eat. Uh.
To sit and just watch the people enjoy the summer.
(18:30):
But also if you want to feel free to go
and enjoy happy together, to enjoy the readolp night bands,
to enjoy Melissa Efforts and Babyface. To to enjoy all
of those things that you that you may have missed
before in years past, but you want to make sure
that you experience them this year. I just think that
(18:53):
taking the time to just expl to see, to look,
and to experience something that you've not done before is
what I think some of our seniors should probably do.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Oh okay, I think is this something that we haven't
coveraged that would you like to put in?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Well, again, we have our a lot of grandstand band
aid does happen on the opening day. We have events
throughout the day for that. Again, we just want to
end up everybody to check our website, to stay connected
with us, to make sure they understand and know that
this is the fair and that there may be times
where the traffic is a little bit backed up, but
(19:33):
we want them to not fret. We have options and
ready for them to come into the un State Fair
through Gate five, our new gate that gets them easy
entry into our infill lot. So I just want them
to just know before they go to check the weather,
to check the gates, to check all of those things
before they head out, just so they're prepared with their
(19:54):
clothing and with their comfort levels.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Okay, all right, So there's a lot of things that
goes down at the share Grounds all year long. Can
you talk something about what's coming up after the fair.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, we have a few great shows that are coming
after the fair. We have an October the World Food
Championship is coming back to the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It's
a great opportunity for us to showcase food from around
the world. Last year was a huge success and we're
happy that they came back again this year. And then
starting in November, we have the Christmas Nights of Light
(20:29):
Show that will run from the week of Thanksgiving all
the way through the end of the year, so they
families can come and take a ride through a light
show that is orchestrated to music that they can listen
to inside of their cars. It's something that is also
becoming a tradition for families around the Midwest and specifically
(20:51):
in the city of Indianapolis. So those are the two
major shows we have coming up that the Fair is
going to be responsible for putting together and making sure
that their success. And we are well ready to welcome
all of our fair goalers to purchase tickets for those
those will be available during the fair this year if
they want to get those tickets early.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Wow, this fair runs a long time. August first of
the seventeenth, that's a lot of fair days. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah. We are open every day except for Monday, so
we are closed on Monday, so it's fifteen days of fair.
But again, just hope our friends know that we are
closed on Mondays.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Do you know what your attendance has been prior?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
We average roughly around eight hundred and fifty thousand. Last
year we got up to eight hundred and fifty four plus,
so we're hoping that we have great weather that we
can try to reach that mark, if not surpass it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Okay, I've enjoyed the interview. We'll get this up and
hopefully you'll help you get more attendance.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Thank you so much, really appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Thank you, Lee Roy.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I have a great way. Bye.
We were Lewis County Tadgrounds in cool k Here. How
are you, mister Lewis Indiana State Fairs coming up? It's
August first through the seventeenth. Are you the fair manager?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
No? I am a director of Community and media engagement.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
That's good, okay, all right? So the first question I
have when I do these fair interviews, and the first
question that comes to mine as a public person is
where do we park? And what's the best parking?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
All right? Are you? We are half a new gate
Gate five for all southbound traffic coming off Fall Creek
should use to get into our infield parking lot, but
we have multiple gates available our parking lot and our
south lot is right off of thirty eighth Street, across
from our Gate one main entrance. We also have the
(00:47):
Deaf School parking lot that we also use for overflow,
and that is off of forty second Street right behind
the fair. And then of course our infield parking lot,
which is our main parking lot inside of the fairground.
Three of those parking lots will be available to you
through the fair. Parking is ten dollars for vehicles, but
any one of those parking will get you into the
(01:09):
figure grounds.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Okay, I'm a handicapped person, an old senior. Where should
I park?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We have ada parking inside the fairgrounds. So once you
get inside the fairgrounds, come either through Gate five or
Gate one and they will donate tell you where eighty
A parking is the nearest that is not filled up.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Okay, all right, So do you have a pickup service
for the the handicapped people to get to the gate.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
We do not have a pickup service for handicaps to
get to the gate, unfortunately. Not we were we would
assume that they have chairs or strollers or they would
use to get through. We do have scooter and wheelchair
rental available at a couple of our gates, but we
do not provide that.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Okay, So I'm coming in through one of the gates
and the first thing that crosses my mind is restrooms.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, we have restrooms all over the campus. So depending
on which side and what area you are in, we
should have restrooms that will be able to accommodate you.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
All right, So Paul's I'm coming in through one of
these gates and I got a bunch of kids under twelve.
What should I do first?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Well, you should purchase their tickets. All children under the
eighty five were getting free, but those twelve year olds
will need to purchase a ticket as well. Hopefully you'll
go online and purchase those tickets ahead of time so
you don't have to worry about trying to pull any
of that out and pull any funds out while you're
going through the ticket gates. But you'll need to purchase
those tickets and then enjoy the fair.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
All right. What about a fair math? Do you have
fair maps that you hand out when they come through
the gates?
Speaker 2 (02:49):
We sure do. Each of our we call them info booths.
We'll have fares available, maps available of all of the
food that we have. We'll have daily maps or maps
with our daily schedules attached to them so that you'll
know exactly what's going on during the fair that particular
(03:09):
day that you're there. And then we also have maps
with some five dollars menu options for you as well.
All of that available on all of our info booths,
and we have four info booths around the fair, but
you also can get them at the intrygates.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Okay, all right, so that is one of the first
things that crosses my mind. What about an application? What
about an application.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Do you have one of those an application?
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Yeah, you know, a lot of a lot of the
fairacy have applications that you can download the good information. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Fortunately, the fair, the state Indiana, say Fair, has not
graduated to using an event app yet, so we don't
have that yet. But we do have our website, and
our website is doing a great service for us. We
are making sure that it's updated in real time is possible.
So we do want our fair goers to use our
(04:03):
website as well as our social media paces, so Instagram, Facebook,
We are updating that every moment we can to let
our fair girlers know what's going on. So, unfortunately we
haven't upgraded to the application yet, but we still are
the opportunity to update our fair goers on our apps.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Okay, all right, so I'm coming in through the gate
and I'm an old person. What should I do first?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well, I'm not gonna call you, oh, but what I
definitely will say is just to try to get there early.
We want to encourage all of our fair goers, especially
those that might be moving a little slower than most,
to get to the fair a little early so that
they're not having to deal with a lot of foot
traffic and a lot of crowd to try to get
through the gates. We want them to get through safely.
(04:49):
But then also once you get in, if you're going
to need one of those scooters or wheelchairs, to find
one of those vendors and try to get those and
so you can be able to get through the fair
and around the grounds the as possible. We also have
trolleys that go around the fairgrounds. So we have a
free trolley service that goes around our fairgrounds.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Oh that's cool.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
That's cool, Benis or Soul, you'll see one. So if
you want to go from one side of the campus
to the other, which I hope they do, to jump
on one of those trolleys and they will be able
to get you around.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, okay, that's that sounds really cool. All right, So
what about strolling entertainment. Let's talk strolling entertainment. Let's strolling
on the grounds.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh well, this year we are having we call Mighty
mic Is gonna be one of our entertainers on the grounds.
We also have what's new for us this year. It's
called Iconic and they are doing a a what do
you call glass blowing workshops that we can make your
own jewelry. We'll have filt walkers as well. We have
(05:52):
the band coming through. We also have the fairgrounds parade
that happens every day, so those are always going to
be those those type of entertainers that will be around
the grounds. We don't have any of that just walk
around other than those stilt workers. But you have Mike
that would be all on the grounds outside doing the
shows a few times a day. Also, we have uh
(06:15):
carving uh station or uh that would be doing some
stuff a couple of times free times to during the day.
So the stilt walkers will be the only ones that
are actually be moving and roaming the grounds as well
as the parade.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Okay, all right, do you have you have four chers
you're there too.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
We have many four rachers. Well, again, this is the
State's Fairs. So all of those counties that have participated
in any of the exhibits and the competition, they are
vying to get here, uh to the State Fair for
the final competition and to get their blue ribbons. But
our four ates exhibit hall is on our south side
(06:55):
of campus, So if you are wanting to come over here,
please to the south side of campus. And I'm sorry,
the north side of campus and see our four h
building where you'll see all the exhibits that all of
our fourches around the state have are putting in that
have won their counties. But we also, of course have
livestock shows. So the livestock shows are going to be
(07:17):
one of the many continued traditions that we push here
in the fairgrounds. And we have a lot of competition
for our fourchers for the livestock.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Okay, all right, so your website says one hundred free
things to do, so we want to elaborate in that
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, if you want to go through all the one hundred,
that's fine. So once you come into the fair, once
you pay your admission, I mean, there is so much
that you can do while you're here. And again you
can go to our website Indiana State Fair dot com
to see all one hundred of those. But a few
that are really kind of stick out to me that
I really like people to think about again as doc
(07:58):
Dogs presented by the Triple Who's your Motor Club? That's
been a real popular one. Petting baby goats has always
been a popular one. Pioneer Village is always something that
we push people to to get onto the north side
of campus. And then you again we have new Mighty
Mic shows again that I mentioned earlier. And then we
also want to make sure that we tell people about
our majors exhibit this year is called the Art of
(08:20):
Music Experience inside of the Vinyl Revival. That's going to
be in our Harvest Pavilion. That's also free for those
and that's going to be one of those experiences that
takes us back to when album covers were really popular.
So we have some really large scale album cover art
that we're displaying in that Art of Music Experience. And
then you know, we have the free stage every day,
(08:42):
so every evening, if you're here with your family or
your friends, you can partake in the Who's Your Lottery
free stage entertainment that will be happening every evening that's
seven thirty. So again I don't want to go through
and spoil everything for everyone, So we also want them
to get to our website and go visit that one
hundred free three to do a page on our site.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Okay, all right, so you have something here that kind
of interests me. The Wolves of the World. What's that?
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Well, again, that's one of those free things that that
we had come up this year. It is an opportunity
for a wolf pack to be seen up close and personal.
It demonstrates, you know, the national behaviors of wolves and
their alertness. And so we are having a couple of
those shows every day at four and six thirty pm.
(09:33):
So we want to make sure that those aren't looked
at as scary, but they also are majestic creatures as well,
so we want people to come and see those. We
do have two extra shows on the weekend, so twelve
and two o'clock as well on Friday through Sunday, but
during the week we only have two at four and
six thirty.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Okay, so there's a lot of free stuff to do
in here. What well, yeah, I would hope so, but
what kind of paid things for day during the day
and is available things that people have to pay for with?
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Oh, well, if they want to experience a little bit more,
they can do. So we have the circus that is
coming back to town. There is it is also free
with an admission to the fair, but you can pay
five dollars for an upgrade charge that can get you
a little what you call a fast path that gets
(10:31):
you into the tent a little bit quicker, and then
you also have the opportunity approaching and purchasing a box
of four for individuals for eighty dollars. If you want
to have a group of four people go in and
then you have that, you can upgrade your tickets for
that or upgrade get upgraded tickets for that. You can
also get upgraded tickets for our reshows at the Who's
Your Lot of Refree stage if you want to enjoy
(10:53):
that as a VIP and through a premium price, you
can do that as well. And then Iconic again. The
new glass blowing experience that we have with the fair
this year is offering opportunity for you to come blow
your own trinkets. There's a few things that they get
you you can choose from that you can then make
yourself and take home with you, and that also comes
(11:15):
with an additional charge. You've got a.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Corn eating competition. What's that?
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Well, it is just that how many ears of corn
can you eat in eight minutes? And I believe it's
so you don't want to miss that opportunity. So if
you love corn on the cob like I do, you
want to go ahead and get put into that and
try your luck and see if you're the best corn
eater in the state of Indiana. Now, again, this is Indiana,
(11:43):
so corn eating is something that we take seriously here
at the Indiana State Fair. So we're hoping that we
get a lot of people interested in that. But yes,
it's basically just eating corner cobs. How many can you eat?
It's not gonna be the most flavorful. I'm told that
you don't put a whole lot of butter salt on
these particular on so you might it might not be
the most tasty corns that you eat, but you definitely
(12:04):
will fill you up.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
What is your favorite fair food?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
My favorite fair food? I'm always gonna go with a
corn dog foot long if I can. Uh, That's what
I'm gonna start with. I also will then go and
get a funnel cake. A couple of years ago they
had this new funnel cake. It's part of our Taste
of the Fair where they put it some apple butter
on it and some other things. And now I'm hooked
on those funnel cakes that have a little bit more
(12:29):
syrupy sweetness on top of it. My wife doesn't like it,
but so I'm only allowed to get one tourst the fairs,
but it is definitely something that I'm looking forward to.
And then you gotta shake, you gotta swallow a levon
shakeup behind it so you you hit that sweet with
that sweet. So those are the three things that I
look forward to every year. But we have the Taste
(12:49):
of the Fair competition presented by PEPSI every year as well,
So there's at least five things on that that I
always try to try.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Okay, so you have a midway is the midway tickets
in the are ible include with the admission price.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Uh, they are not no, so you you are able
to purchase tickets ahead of time to go and use
the midway rides and participate in the games and such.
You all right, now, we have discounted risk bands available
on our website, so again an opportunity for individuals to
get a discounted UH risk bands. But also on two
(13:22):
dollars Tuesdays, all of our rides are two dollars per ticket.
Then they have two dollars food options as well, so
we allow a lot of people try to take advantage
of that opportunity if they can on a Tuesday. So
we try to make it affordable. This is the best
value of the summer. You get so much free things.
But sometimes there is a up charge and a little
(13:45):
bit more for some of those premium experiences, and we
try to mitigate that with things like two dollars Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
What's pioneer Village?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Pion Your village is taking you back. So think about
Indie in the eighteen hundreds. That is where we are
seeing pioneered village. So what was rural Indiana like in
the eighteen hundreds? I don't know, do you? No, you
(14:15):
have the opery house, you have an antique tractor exhibition exhibit.
You can see some farm toys, you can see people
making horseshoes, you can see some metal being hammered in.
But it is an opportunity for you to take a
blast into the past of rural Indiana in the eighteen hundreds.
(14:36):
So it's something. It's one of those things where you
are immersed and our volunteers for that particular exhibit is
are immersed into their roles so they do not break
those But we have a really cool exhibit every year
and this year is not going to disappoint.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, all right, So you have entertainers, I would imagine
during the day and also at night. So what kind
of free entertainment do you have during the day.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Again, all of our entertainment, for the most part is
free with a fair emission. Again, we have the circus
that is free with fair emission with upgrade tickets that
are available. The hoosil O Free Auto Free Stage is
free for patrons as well. You can also go into
the Family Fun Park. We have a basketball court, we
(15:24):
have a splash pad. All of our live stocks are available,
so all of those things. The grandstand may have a
couple of entertainment pieces that could be depending on the
particular show, be free, but also might have an upgraded
charge as well, So all of those things are free.
And again just thinking about livestock experience, going to see
(15:46):
the livestock that's also free. Seeing Mighty Might that's also free.
You can watch the cornet in competition if you choose
not to participate, that's also free. So there's a lot
of things that we are giving an option to for
our fair goers that again are comes with the price
of admission. But again sometimes there's an upgraded experience available
(16:09):
if they want to take advantage of it.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Okay, all right, well, you know, different fair grounds to
the country do things differently, and depending also on what
part of the country, things are a little bit different here,
all right, So what about evening entertainment?
Speaker 2 (16:26):
What do we act? So evening entertainment again is probably
going to take advantage of our FuG lottery free stage.
We open up our first day, August first, with Three
Dog Night free for all of our fares goers with
the price of admission. We have other acts that are
coming on every evening at seven point thirty again Three
(16:47):
Dog Knight starts us off and Marvin Sap ends us
off on the last Sunday of the fair. And in
between we have national acts like Baby's Faith, Happy Together,
Long Star, Militia Rich. Then we have a couple of
superstars that are coming down, movie stars that have bands
that are going to be gracing our stage as well
this year, and that's Bill Murray and his Blood Brothers
(17:09):
as well. We have a lot of people that are
looking forward to those individuals participating in the free stage.
And then you know, you have the Thomas Nicholas Band
in nineteen sixty four, who is a tribute band for
the Beatles. So again, Nightly Entertainment and then if you
(17:30):
want to take on those shows, those were free. But
also you can go spend your time in the Midway
as well.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Okay, Midway Rise and Attraction. Oh you got a skyride,
that's cool.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Not all the fears have that, No, they don't. Our
sky rides one side of our main street to the other.
It is a ticketed ride, but it does allow you
the opportunity to see the fair from a few hundred
feet in the air, so it gives you opportunity to
see different perspective that everyone is not able to do.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
All right, there's a lot of stuff here for kids
to do. What do you think the best thing for
the seniors is to do?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
The best thing for the seniors is to enjoy time
with your family and your friends. To reconnect with those
that you love. UH. To to build and to strengthen
your relationships over women, shake up, To experience food that
you may have never thought you would want to eat. Uh.
To sit and just watch the people enjoy the summer.
(18:30):
But also if you want to feel free to go
and enjoy happy together, to enjoy the readolp night bands,
to enjoy Melissa Efforts and Babyface. To to enjoy all
of those things that you that you may have missed
before in years past, but you want to make sure
that you experience them this year. I just think that
(18:53):
taking the time to just expl to see, to look,
and to experience something that you've not done before is
what I think some of our seniors should probably do.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
Oh okay, I think is this something that we haven't
coveraged that would you like to put in?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Well, again, we have our a lot of grandstand band
aid does happen on the opening day. We have events
throughout the day for that. Again, we just want to
end up everybody to check our website, to stay connected
with us, to make sure they understand and know that
this is the fair and that there may be times
where the traffic is a little bit backed up, but
(19:33):
we want them to not fret. We have options and
ready for them to come into the un State Fair
through Gate five, our new gate that gets them easy
entry into our infill lot. So I just want them
to just know before they go to check the weather,
to check the gates, to check all of those things
before they head out, just so they're prepared with their
(19:54):
clothing and with their comfort levels.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Okay, all right, So there's a lot of things that
goes down at the share Grounds all year long. Can
you talk something about what's coming up after the fair.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, we have a few great shows that are coming
after the fair. We have an October the World Food
Championship is coming back to the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It's
a great opportunity for us to showcase food from around
the world. Last year was a huge success and we're
happy that they came back again this year. And then
starting in November, we have the Christmas Nights of Light
(20:29):
Show that will run from the week of Thanksgiving all
the way through the end of the year, so they
families can come and take a ride through a light
show that is orchestrated to music that they can listen
to inside of their cars. It's something that is also
becoming a tradition for families around the Midwest and specifically
(20:51):
in the city of Indianapolis. So those are the two
major shows we have coming up that the Fair is
going to be responsible for putting together and making sure
that their success. And we are well ready to welcome
all of our fair goalers to purchase tickets for those
those will be available during the fair this year if
they want to get those tickets early.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Wow, this fair runs a long time. August first of
the seventeenth, that's a lot of fair days. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
Yeah. We are open every day except for Monday, so
we are closed on Monday, so it's fifteen days of fair.
But again, just hope our friends know that we are
closed on Mondays.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Do you know what your attendance has been prior?
Speaker 2 (21:30):
We average roughly around eight hundred and fifty thousand. Last
year we got up to eight hundred and fifty four plus,
so we're hoping that we have great weather that we
can try to reach that mark, if not surpass it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Okay, I've enjoyed the interview. We'll get this up and
hopefully you'll help you get more attendance.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Thank you so much, really appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Thank you, Lee Roy.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
I have a great way. Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.