Louisville Courier-Journal

Innovation keeps Indiana State Fair fresh

Crowds educated and entertained

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener

Admission to the first Indiana State Fair in 1852 was a mere 20 cents, and the 30,000 people who showed up for the three-day event were mostly farmers hoping to learn about the latest agricultural technology and machinery.

This month's state fair — the 150th — will likely draw more than 800,000 visitors who will pay $6 to enter the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Indianapolis' north side.

Most of them won't be farmers. But the 12-day event still will celebrate the state's agricultural history, giving urban and suburban families an up-close look at the hogs, sheep and cattle raised by their rural counterparts and at the tractors and machinery used to grow corn, soybeans and other crops.

"One hundred-fifty years ago and for 100 years, this was a place where people could receive information. There wasn't the Internet. There wasn't television. It was a gathering place for people to learn," said fair director Cindy Hoye. "What's remarkable is that it's still a gathering place for people to learn."

But the state fair today is about far more than just farming and education. It's the flashing lights and stomach-lurching rides on the midway. It's the roasted corn, the pork tenderloins and the deep-fried funnel cakes. And it's big-time entertainment, with singers like Kid Rock, Kanye West and Big & Rich lighting up the grandstands.

"There is so much to do," said 17-year-old Kaleesa Archer, president of the Switzerland County FFA chapter, who spent part of last week helping get exhibits ready for fairgoers. "Every year I come here, I learn something new."

Indiana — with the sixth-oldest fair in the nation — is not alone in this transformation, said Jim Tucker, president of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions.

"Entertainment was added to fairs ... to help finance them," he said. "Also it's the carrot to draw folks there to get them exposed to the education."

In Indiana, fair attendance has generally been on the rise, although sweltering heat and then rain kept admissions down a bit last year after a record high in 2004. And the fair — unlike those in Illinois, South Dakota, Colorado and other states — has been in the black for years.

That's in part because state leaders have continued to invest in its future, Tucker said.

"Fairs that are receiving support — from the community, from the government, from sponsors — like the Indiana State Fair are doing very well," he said. Indiana "is really an example" for other states.

Indiana dedicates a tiny fraction of property taxes — eight one-hundredths of a cent per $100 of assessed value — to the fair. That was about $3 million last year. And the General Assembly allocates 15 cents in tax revenue for every casino admission to the Indiana State Fair Commission for upkeep of the grounds.

That's allowed the commission to spend $60 million on improvements since 1990, money used to renovate buildings, improve landscaping and restrooms and create new exhibits.

This year the fair has also signed on $1.1 million in sponsorships, the most ever, with companies that include Pepsi, GM and Toyota.

In all, the State Fair Commission budgets about $8 million annually for the event, although Hoye said the staff spent a little more this year to prepare for the 150th anniversary.

The Gazebo Gift Shop in the heart of the fairgrounds is wrapped up like a bright, pink birthday cake. A kick-off concert featuring Hoosier Sandi Patty, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Indiana University jazz legend David Baker will take place Tuesday.

And fairgoers can journey through 150 years of state fair stories, pictures and activities at an exhibit at the Old National Bank Grand Hall.

In all, the fair has more than 40 new programs, exhibits or events this year. They include a traveling sea lion show and a new, 312,000-gallon fishing pond sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources to teach kids how to fish.

The fair has added a structure outside the Natural Resources Building with a circular walkway to give visitors an up-close view of native Indiana butterflies. There's a new sculptural sign welcoming visitors to the fair and a 150th anniversary cheese sculpture.

Hoye said the ever-changing exhibits are necessary to give Hoosiers a reason to come back year after year. And the staff makes sure there is plenty of free entertainment — in addition to the higher-priced concerts.

This year, Mr. McFeely, the postman from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, will greet children and adults at the National Bank Grand Hall. Dan Menendez, a "piano juggler," will have three free shows daily. And ComedySportz, an improvisational act, will perform a free show on Aug. 9.

David Klenosky, an associate professor of recreation and sports management at Purdue University, said that to be successful the fair must offer activities not available elsewhere. What makes the fair especially attractive, he said, is that it offers so much in one package.

The state fair "allows us to sample what it means to be in America, in our state," Klenosky said. "It allows us to get in touch with things that are authentic. We get to experience a whole range of things from simple amusement rides and carnies to experiencing different types of foods and seeing the production side of our state."