Home is where the heart is

There's the old adage "home is where the heart is," and that, perhaps, is none more so true than with Tamika Allen, who got the keys to her first house on Friday.

But this wasn't any home build -- throughout the past three months, Habitat for Humanity spearheaded an effort to get hundreds of volunteers from several organizations to help build the Allen family a home.

Furthermore, volunteers helped assemble and paint the home here at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, just east of the DNR complex. The house will then be moved Sept. 14 to its new home off Bellafontaine Street in Indianapolis. Habitat officials said this is only the second time that any chapter throughout the nation has built a home not on its final location.

Even though Tamika has her keys, she'll have plenty of entertaining to do in the next 2-1/2 days: The house is open through Sunday for all fairgoers to walk through.

"It's been a long year, but I've finally made it today," Tamika said outside her new house.

It was a heck of a housewarming. Boomer from the Indiana Pacers, as well as reps from various sponsors, such as Kroger, Dow AgroSciences and the Indiana State Fairgrounds, stopped by to drop off presents and share stories about the build.

"It was a very challenging and ambitious schedule," said Dean Illingworth, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis. "The heat didn't slow us down. In fact, there was one day we were ahead of schedule."

Welcome home, Tamika.


Submitted by Kristofer Karol

Sprucing up the old "house"

If you complain about having to clean your abode, try scrubbing down and sprucing up a 250-acre "house." That's what crews are busy doing with just three weeks to go until fair time at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

The fairgrounds doesn't magically look immaculate for the Indiana State Fair; a lot of work goes into ensuring the State Fairgrounds looks nice for its nearly 1 million visitors.

Below are just some shots of prep work going on around the fairgrounds this week:

Teams are busy laying down the concrete foundation for the Boy Scouts of America's Legacy Bridge Project. Once completed, the bridge will be 71 feet long of Indiana Hardwood Lumber just north of the Speed Barns.

What? You didn't think the crosswalk stripes came as naturally white as Dairy Bar vanilla ice cream, did you?

There's been plenty of activity near the Swine Barn, too. Appropriate enough, given it is the "Year of Pigs!"

Did we mention it's "Year of Pigs?" You won't have to go far to find your porky pals at the fair this year. The gift shop will sell everything from bacon bandages to bacon-flavored lip balm. I wonder if my girlfriend has egg-flavored lip balm -- that'd be a way to start the day! Pucker up, dear!

Enjoy old tractors and farm machinery? There's plenty of each now just west of Pioneer Village.

This space looks pretty empty now, but don't be fooled -- it will be home to the Habitat for Humanity AgHome soon enough.






Our Executive Director, Cindy Hoye, 18 days before opening day of the Indiana State Fair. Lots of reading material, a few phone messages, and plenty of e-mails. Don't miss the caffeine and her "when pigs fly" ornament, hanging from the computer!

See you at the Great Indiana State Fair!

Submitted by Kristofer Karol

Hundreds of Volunteers Lend Helping Hands for AgHome

What do you get when 200 volunteers, generous sponsors, thousands of nails, and hundreds of
2 x 4’s come together on a bright, sunny morning? A five-bedroom, two-bathroom Habitat for Humanity home!

The Indiana State Fairgrounds hosted a panel build where board, commission, and staff members worked alongside hundreds of sponsor and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis (HFHGI) volunteers. Sheila Carlson, HFHGI Development and Community Relations Coordinator, was one of this morning’s hardworking crew members.



HFHGI has built more than 370 homes since its inception in 1987, but this home is unique. Several sponsors have stepped-up to help make Allen’s dream of home ownership a reality and showcase the impact of Indiana’s agriculture, a $25 billion industry.

Now that the panels are completed, full construction will take place on the north side of the Fairgrounds during this year’s fair. Normally, a Habitat home is built in six weeks, but Allen’s home will be completed in 15 days and then transported to its permanent site in Central Indianapolis.

A big thank you to everyone who gave their time and effort today! We hope you’ll consider touring the Habitat for Humanity home at this year’s Indiana State Fair, Aug. 6 – 22!


Submitted by: Courtney Sampson