Enter the World of Wheels

I’ll be honest - I don’t know a camshaft from a driveshaft. I’ve never changed my own oil. I have no desire to spend a Saturday afternoon swapping out sparkplugs. I don’t even wax my Honda Accord. But for some strange reason, I could look at cool cars and antique automobiles all day long.

That’s why I’m excited about the return of this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 World of Wheels. This show has been around more than 50 years and always has an incredible collection of awesome hot rods, classic cars, custom motorcycles and more!

There’s just something about seeing (and sometimes touching) these vehicles all painted and polished and ready to roll. Must be a guy thing. But it’s a family thing, too, with slot car racing and other fun things to check out and enjoy.

There’s just something about seeing (and sometimes touching) these vehicles all painted and polished and ready to roll. Must be a guy thing. But it’s a family thing, too, with slot car racing and other fun things to check out and enjoy.

This year, the show will also have a strong line-up of celebrities to meet and greet … especially for the guys. Appearing this year are:

TV’s Spongebob Squarepants Friday, 6-9 p.m.
Sat., 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Deena “The Blast” Nicole from “Jersey Shore” Sat., 1-5 p.m.

WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio Sat., 1-3 p.m.

Reality TV celebrity Billy the Exterminator Sun. noon-5 p.m.

So you don’t have to be a car buff or a grease monkey to enjoy this show, but if you are, clear your weekend schedule. You’ll need plenty of time to make your way through all three buildings of displays, stages and exhibits. Vrrrroooooommm!

Submitted by Andy Klotz

Super Fun at State Fairgrounds

The Big Game may be taking place 15 minutes away from here, but the State Fairgrounds has been full of Super Bowl excitement this week.

It started early in the week with the transformation of the Pepsi Coliseum as the NFL prepared it for Thursday Night’s Pepsi Fan Jam headlined by B.o.B., Gym Class Heroes and the All American Rejects. Tonight’s show featuring Steven Tyler and Carrie Underwood is also sure to be a great time.

The commissioner’s party, the Maxim party and other events have also brought big name celebs to the fairgrounds, but nothing can top this morning’s presentation of the Bart Starr Award at the Super Bowl Breakfast in the Exposition Hall. More than 2,000 people turned out to see Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher receive the honor for his outstanding talents on the field and his faith-led civic involvement in real life.

Indianapolis will be remembered for a long time as a great Super Bowl host city, and the State Fairgrounds is proud to be playing a small role in that.

Submitted by Andy Klotz

Discovery Hall Open for Business

Remember the old Girls’ Dormitory at the Fairgrounds? If you do, then – no offense – you’ve been around a while. The third building in the Fairgrounds’ 4-H Education Complex is four decades removed from its heyday and has been closed since 1990. Not anymore.

The new “Discovery Hall” is open for business and conducting business every day thanks to its three new office tenants: the Indiana Board of Animal Health, Marion County Purdue Extension Service and Marion County Soil and Water Conservation District. Today’s Open House officially started a new chapter in the building’s history, five years and $5 million dollars since the first phase of a four-phase renovation began.

The three groups’ offices occupy the first two floors of the building while the third floor is used to house 4-H kids and activities during the State Fair and other groups year-round. The renovation completes a long-term goal of reopening the entire complex, which also includes Centennial Hall (formerly the Boys’ Dormitory) and the Exhibit Hall, both renovated and reopened in 2004.

The three organizations all love their new surroundings, and we love the fact that the building is not just providing essential meeting and office space, but also producing earned revenue (about $200,000/year) that we can use toward other operational needs. This is your classic “win-win” scenario. And who doesn’t love a winner?

Submitted by Andy Klotz

Coliseum Renovation Takes Big Step Forward!

Have you heard the news? The Pepsi Coliseum is getting a facelift!

That’s right, after 70 years of hockey, horses and hog shows – not to mention presidents, Pacers, boxing and Beatlemania – the Pepsi Coliseum is going to be brought up to modern standards. The details aren’t all set yet, but the plan is to close the grand old building this fall and cut the ribbon on the updated version in time for the 2014 State Fair now that the State Fair Commission has approved a resolution to move forward with design work.

How much will it cost? What will it look like? What about all the events that take place in there now?

Those are all good questions, and we don’t have all the answers. Not yet, anyway.

A financing package is still being put into place and we should get all those numbers squared away soon. Last fall, a Program & Scheduling committee was formed to examine the best way to reschedule all the State Fair events that normally take place in the Coliseum, so all the horse pulls, hitch competitions and other things will happen, but we can’t tell you where just yet.

As for the Coliseum’s new look, there won’t be one on the outside. The building’s “shell” will remain the same, just a little shinier … like when it was first erected in 1939. Inside, though, should be a spectacular improvement. Check these out…

What a glorious sight! Don’t get me wrong, though. The new building won’t have skyboxes with parquet floors and gold-lined drink holders. It will simply be a modern, comfortable, all-purpose arena with seating for 7,000-9,000 people depending on the type of event. That’s something that Indy doesn’t have right now, so we expect the new building to be even busier than the current one. It will also be the new site for all the fair’s headline entertainment – a much better use of resources than paying for a permanent roof over the stage in the grandstand.

Design plans are going forward and a construction manager will soon be selected. Stay tuned on the progress. This longtime dream is starting to become a reality, and it feels great!

Submitted by Andy Klotz

Indiana On the Fly - this weekend!

I'm no fisherman, but the thought of standing in a cool stream in the middle of the mountains on a warm spring day sure sounds appealing! So maybe I should take my own advice and head out to this Saturday's “Indiana On the Fly” fly fishing show in the State Fairgrounds' Ag/Hort building.


There will be all kinds of great gear, experts and clinics to check out, including well known outdoorswoman, cook and author Georgia Pelligrini. Here's a little preview, in her own words:

My passion for good food, for simple food, began at an early age, on a boulder by the side of a creek as I caught my trout for breakfast. I grew up on the same land my great-grandfather owned and worked. This place is called Tulipwood, and there my great-aunt could name every species of plant; my grandmother made meatloaf, balsamic vinaigrette and egg dip with an intoxicating savoir-faire; and my father raised honeybees and quince trees with the care typically devoted to a newborn.

This connection to the land and the deep satisfaction one gets from manual labor stayed with me through college and even during the years that I strayed onto the path of least resistance and into the world of finance.

After a bit of soul searching I decided to leave the cubicle world behind and enrolled in culinary school (French Culinary Institute). I soon began to work in farm to table restaurants in the U.S. (Gramercy Tavern and Blue Hill at Stone Barns) and France (La Chassagnette), driving heavy farm equipment, and harvesting both meat and plants for dinner. I found that I was most interested in the foragers and fig collectors and salami makers that arrived to the restaurants with their goods, and soon befriended them and went on journeys with them, through the woods, into curing rooms, and over the rolling hills of olive oil vineyards. My first book “Food Heroes,” tells the story of sixteen culinary artisans across the world, who are fighting to preserve their food traditions.



It was during all this that I decided it was time to really get at the heart of where our food comes from and head to the source—Mother Nature. I bought a shotgun and set my sites on the cutting edge of culinary creativity intent on pushing the boundaries of American gastronomy.

The result of these adventures will be a book called “Girl Hunter” arriving in Fall 2011. I currently roam the world hunting and gathering, tasting good food, and meeting the good people who make it. In any given city, on any given day, you can find me posted up in a café with my shotgun and a glass of rosé.

You can also follow my adventures on Twitter or my Facebook Page!

Submitted by Andy Klotz

Tippecanoe County Reigns Supreme

It wouldn’t be the end of the fair without crowning a new Indiana State Fair queen. Today, 88 great girls throughout the state highlighted what Indiana is all about. However, it was Erika Burghardt of Tippecanoe County who was crowned as Miss Indiana State Fair 2012. You couldn’t ask for a better reaction from Erika. "Surprised," "shocked" and "tears of joy" are all accurate descriptions of her emotions the moments after her name was called.

Check it out:

Throughout the summer I watched Sara Alford represent the 2011 Indiana State Fair and take part in many of the events during the fair. She did a great job, and I have no doubt that Erika will take over the title and do the same thing.

Congratulations, Erika! I can’t wait to return to the fair next year and see you reign over the “Year of Dairy Cows”!

Submitted by: Julie Woodward

The Blue Monkey Sideshow

These people are freaks. And no, I am not being insulting or judgmental – the members of the Blue Monkey Sideshow pride themselves on being highly entertaining but slightly insane.

The show features five men, all working together in various acts to put together a show that is amusing and mind-boggling, with a comical twist.

And who are these sideshow members? There is main narrator Krembo, musician Skanky, “Mystic of the East” Swami, sword-swallowing Freakshow Foley and masked Zja ‘Dega.

There were many acts in this half-hour show but the one that I found most disturbing was when Freakshow Foley swallowed a foot-long sword without a moment of hesitation. To my delight (and horror), that first sword wasn’t the only one Foley swallowed – he also gulped down a curved sword that caused his Adam’s apple to move as the sword passed through his throat.

The show also featured a bed of nails, extreme juggling and the Swami mediating in an airless bag for three minutes.

You know I can’t give anything else away – so you have to see the Blue Monkey Sideshow for yourself in any of its remaining performances. For the last two days of the State Fair, you can check out this quirky show at 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 and 9 p.m. in the Dow AgroSciences Celebration Park.

Want some more info on the Blue Monkey Sideshow? Visit http://www.bluemonkeysideshow.com/index.html for information on the performers and where the show is headed next!

POSTED BY: TANYA GABRISH