The Indiana State Fair is over, finally.
Expanded to 17 days this year, the goal of increasing attendance and revenue was reached, but the extra days took their toll on those who work the fair and those who cover it. While there were many newsworthy stories that occurred at the fair, there were some that just did not make the cut.

In addition, the extra days gave me the opportunity to do some people watching and eavesdropping on those who attended the event. With the help of a few colleagues and friends, here is a collection of some of the funny, strange, profound, offbeat and just plain weird things that were seen or heard at the 2009 Indiana State Fair.

Animals are the main reason most people come to the fair, but not all. One fair visitor was heard to say, “What’s with all these animals here?” For most urban fair visitors, this is their only contact with farm animals. Most folks are fascinated by the animals and repelled by their odor.

As one person at the celebrity milking contest said, “It sure smells ‘natural’ in here.” You would think that basic animal identification would be something most people could do. Not the young man who stood in front of the World Largest Male Hog and seriously asked, “Is that a sheep?” And, there was the mother who explained to her daughters that the 1,200-pound oxen in the Pioneer Village barn were “girls.”

Then there is what people wear to the fair. The woman in the micro-mini dress with shoes with 5-inch, silver, spike heels takes the prize for most unpractical clothing to wear to a fair. While as a man, I have zero experience with wearing high-heeled shoes, it seems to me that they would not be the shoe of choice for walking around fairgrounds. Thus, the large number of women wearing heels at the fair baffled me.

One last comment on clothing, please remember that white clothes turn invisible when they get wet, such as when a sudden squall line dumps heavy rain on thousands of fairgoers caught in open areas.
Food is a big attraction at the fair. One of the most talked about food items this year was the chocolate-covered bacon. Opinions ranged from “this is fantastic” to “I will never eat it again.”

One of the funniest incidents involving food occurred when Gov. Daniels asked Sarah Kaufmann, the cheese artist, if the cheese in her sculpture was real. She said yes, and dared him to take a bite. Pulling out a pocketknife – yes, the Governor carries a pocketknife - he hacked off a slice of Indiana cheddar from the 1,200-pound work of art. After tasting it, he began passing it to the crowd that had gathered.

Speaking of cheese artist Sarah Kaufmann, she wins the award for having the worst puns at the fair. During the five days it took her to carve the sculpture, she talked constantly to the people who passed by. During her monologues, she made more cheese puns than I have ever heard. She named her cheese characters “Pepper” and “Jack” with their kids “Gouda Marie” and “Curd-is.”

Another food-related incident I found humorous was when, in an interview with Hoosier Ag Today, Miss America Katie Stam, a native Hoosier and a paid spokesperson for Indiana Dairy farmers, admitted her favorite food at the fair was pork.

The grand champion ribbon for the most enthusiastic fair attendee goes to the State Fair Queen Haleigh Yergler. This 10-year, Porter County 4-Her and experienced livestock showman tossed off her boots and jeans, put on a dress and crown, and jumped into the State Fair with more gusto than I have seen in a long time.

At the 4-H Sale of Champions, she took bids in the ring, auctioned off one of the animals, and, when the bids lagged on the champion waterfowl, she offered to kiss the duck if a new record was set. The record was set and the duck got kissed. The queen also won the milking contest and set a new record of two cups.

Finally, the most asked question at the fair this year was, “What do you think of the new longer format?” The answers I heard ranged from “I love it” from Cindy Hoye, the director of the fair to “I hate it” from some reporters I know who covered the fair. Most people I talked with fell somewhere in the middle.

The longer schedule will remain in place for two more years. During that time, I hope State Fair planners can tweak the schedule a bit.
There were still some days with too much happening and others with very little happening. In addition, something big needs to happen during the last few days of the fair to make it new and exciting and lift the spirits of those of us who have been hanging around for more than two weeks.

One final thing: I would like to know who the smart aleck was on the State Fair staff who placed a designated smoking area next to the Healthy Lifestyle stage.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.