Tagliani bikes fair as beaver

You honestly never know what you are going to see at the Great Indiana State Fair, and today was no exception. Alex Tagliani, a popular IndyCar driver, had to ride around the fair on a tricycle in a beaver costume, representative of his native Canada, while stopping to have some State Fair fun along the way.

BUT WHY? Well, the embarrassing stunt was the payoff of a bet to friend, fellow driver and 2008 Indianapolis 500 champion Scott Dixon who raised $1,130 more than Tagliani during their Power of 2 Challenge.

The Power of 2 is a fundraising initiative that uses celebrity power for social causes.  In this case, Dixon raised $7,036 for two groups that focus on cancer stricken young people, CanTeen and Teens Living with Cancer, during a two-week campaign that ended July 18.  Tagliani raised slightly less, $5,906, for his chosen charity, Anaphyaxis Canada, an organization that helps people with life threatening allergies.

Tagliani began his journey at 11 a.m. on Main Street in front of the Communications Building and proceeded around the fairgrounds and performed the following tasks:

• Posed for photo with the World’s Largest Male Hog at the Swine Barn
• Chugged a delicious strawberry milkshake at the Dairy Bar
• Failed ringing the bell at the “Strong Man”  game at the midway
• Posed for photo with the World’s Largest Popcorn Ball at the Agriculture/Horticulture Building 
• Milked a dairy cow in the Livestock Nursery in the Family Fun Park

Lastly, he finally won back his dignity by beating Dixon and others on the fair’s Mini-Indy Speedway, a quarter-mile banked oval track in the fairgrounds’ northeast corner.

For more information on this challenge or the Power of 2 initiative, please visit www.power-of-2.org.