Habitat House Heads Home

If you visited us during the fair and wandered around the northside of the grounds behind the FFA Pavilion, then you no doubt saw plenty of folks hard at work, and I don't mean we fair employees (well, we were working hard, too). But I'm talking about Habitat for Humanity workers and volunteers who were busy constructing a 5-bedroom, 2,500 square-foot ranch house that would eventually become the home of Tamika Allen and her five children.

The crew worked overtime, with assistance from groups like the Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers, to get the home built during the fair's first 15 days before being opened up to the public the final weekend of the fair.

Now, the home is at its real home: 2062 Bellefontaine St., just a few miles south of the Fairgrounds. It took Wolfe Movers about three hours to take the three-mile trek, but things went very smoothly.

So it's time to say goodbye to Indiana's first relocated Habitat home. Seems like we were just getting used to having you. Not to worry, though. We'll be building another one next year.

Submitted by Andy Klotz

#1 Fair fan honored by Governor

Liz Bowman has made lots of great memories out here at the fair, but nothing will top what happened today. The 83-year-old Indianapolis woman was honored by the fair and Governor Mitch Daniels for her unwavering devotion to the Great Indiana State Fair.

It's hard to believe, but she's been to every day of every fair for the last 62 years! And she doesn't just ride the tractor shuttle around all day. She still visits different spots and loves all the people she gets to meet.

Take a look at today's recognition. She called today the best day of her life outside of when her children were born, and her display of emotion was quite touching. Thanks for coming to the fair all those years, Liz... we love you!






Submitted by Andy Klotz

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

"Goode" Video Wins Go Hog Wild Indiana YouTube Contest

OK - I've got a public confession to make. When I started my internship at the Indiana State Fair on June 2, I didn't know the difference between a steer and a swine. Sure, I know what cows and pigs are, but those fancy terms went WAY over my head.

I've come a long way. Anybody know what a Red Wattle Hog is? I do, I do! How about a Shropshire Market Lamb? Yep, I know that one, too. Denae, the Indiana State Fair Queen, tricked me into eating goat...and I even held a fish! This is big stuff for a city-slicker like me. In fact, I even had the pleasure of riding a donkey with my counterpart, Kris Karol, earlier this week. So now I can officially say..."This ain't my first rodeo!"

But I digress...In the midst of all this fun, the Indiana State Fair staff, along with Indiana Pork and Live Nation, found time to watch the entries for our Go Hog Wild Indiana YouTube Contest. A big THANK YOU to all the participants. With 931 views, the winner is....Big Mikey, Cris, and Little Ham, Addie Goode! Congrats to the Goode family on an awesome YouTube video.

Last night, Mike Platt, Executive Director for Indiana Pork, along with Denae Pyle and Porkchop, presented the $250 check to the Goode family. The runner-up, Amanda Falcone, received The Other White Meat Grill Set.

The best part of the night? I got to see Addie's face as she climbed inside the antique firetruck to lead the Daily Parade...and then...PORKCHOP arrived on-site! Addie waited all week to see her favorite fair friend. Here's a picture from last night; you can see Addie admiring Porkchop.


If you didn't catch the Go Hog Wild video, check it out below or visit the Indiana State Fair YouTube Channel!

Submitted by: Courtney Sampson, Intern

RESULTS: Young Hoosier State Piano Competition

Young pianists from throughout the state recently competed in the Indiana State Fair's Young Hoosier State Piano Competition. They played everything from classical to ragtime and showed the crowds they wouldn't be out of place performing at the Hillbert Circle Theatre in downtown Indianapolis.

Here are the results from the contest:

Youth Classical:
1. Chendi Liu
2. Mishael Paraiso
3. Hannah Liu
4. Ruth Kelley
HM Adelle Murphy
HM Annie Qin
HM Gracie Tubbs

Youth Non-Classical:
1. Melissa Su
2. Ruth Kelley
3. Benjamin genter
HM Nathan Fiedelday
HM Saylor Lancaster

Youth Jazz, Blues & Boogie
1. Virginia Reen
2. Ben Casica
3. Zion Andoh
4. Brynn Anderson

Youth Ragtime:
1. Ruth Kelley
2. Saylor Lancaster

Youth Schumann:
1. Oscar Wang
2. Alicia Wang

Youth Sonatina:
1. Mishael Paraiso
2. Christie Bao
3. Jocelyn Sun
HM Hannah Liu
HM Iris Yan

Youth Ensemble:
1. John Kelley & Ruth Kelley
2. Virginia Reen & Stephen Reen II
3. Tushar Sardesai & Alex Lee
HM Lincoln He & Michael Chen
HM Sarah Liao & Stephanie Liao

Jr. Classical:
1. Isabella Hu
2. Peter Rutkowski
3. Andy Morris
4. Anthony Peterson
HM Stephanie Hong
HM Claire Kim
HM Henry Su

Jr. Non-Classical:
1. Mark Mozina
2. Henry Su
3. Saki Tanikawa
4. Hannah Wang
HM Jacquelyn Knobelsdorf
HM Andy Morris
HM Sarah Tinaphong

Jr. Sonatina:
1. Jerome Sendon
2. Dominic Reen
3. Andy Morris
4. Amberly Xie
HM Stephen Reen II
HM Samuel Genter
HM Jacquelyn Knobelsdorf

Jr. Ragtime:
1. Mark Mozina
2. Stephen Reen II
3. Saki Tanikawa
HM Brandt Carmichael
HM Yoonseo Choi

Jr. Jazz, Blues & Boogie:
1. Bernard Reen
2. Dominic Reen
3. Henry Su
HM Jacquelyn Knobelsdorf
HM Mark Mozina

Jr. Sonata:
1. Mark Mozina
2. Peter Rutkowski
3. Michael Tam
HM Stephanie Hong
HM Isabella Hu

Jr. Chopin:
1. Peter Rutkowski
2. Anna Montgomery
3. Stephen Reen II
HM Dominic Reen
HM Louis Sokol

Jr. Schumann:
1. Peter Rutkowski

2. Bernard Reen
3. Hikaru Miyazaki
HM Dominic Reen
HM Stephen Reen II

Jr. Ensemble:
1. Bernard Reen & Dominic Reen
2. Jasmine Sendon & Sarah Tinaphong
3. Dominic Reen & Stephen Reen II
HM Andrew Walker & Hannah Walker
HM Katie Mao & Laan Yeung
HM Aaron Peng & Konwoo Kim

Mid-Teen Classical
1. Lyndon Ji

2. Roger Morris Jr
3. Joey wu
4. Haley O'Neil
HM Laan Yeung
HM Alexander Lai

Mid-Teen Sonata:
1. Lyndon Ji
2. Evelyn Foster
3. Jasmine Sendon

HM Baizhen Zhu
HM Anna Tam
HM Sang Jun Park
HM Michaela Walker

Mid-Teen Sonatina:
1. Marina Lopez
2. Regina Go
3. Zachary Weldon
4. Jessica Wilson

Mid-Teen Schumann:
1. Sam Roach
2. Sang Jun Park
3. Sarah Archer
4. Andrew Walker

Mid-Teen Non-Classical:
1. Roger Morris Jr
2. Jenny Ly
3. Regina Go
HM Patrick Meader
HM Dustin Phillips
HM Allyson Weber

Mid-Teen Jazz, Blues & Boogie:
1. Jenny Ly

Mid-Teen Chopin:
1. Madissen Pearson
2. Julie Puckett
3. Roger Morris, Jr
HM Lyndon Ji
HM Michael Tan

Mid-Teen Ragtime:
1. Julie Puckett
2. David Goldberg
3. Rachel Ollestad
4. Haley Long

Collegiate Non-Classical:
1. Hallie Thyr

Collegiate Ensemble:
1. Hannah Porter & Elizabeth Porter

Sr. Teen Classical:
1. Verna Mui
2. Jacob Merriman
3. Nick Sokol
HM Viven Lai
HM Roberta Weiner

Sr. Teen Non-Classical:
1. Miki Tanikawa
2. Jacob Merriman
3. Jacki Howard
HM Laura Knopp
HM Jill Bosserman
HM Paul Settle
HM Cecilia Hsu

Sr. Teen Chopin:
1. Stephanie Wu
2. Miki Tanikawa
3. Jill Bosserman
HM Nick Sokol
HM Darienne Patchett
HM Julianna Pikus

Sr. Teen Sonata:
1. Ejiela Agi
2. Lauren Dirks
3. Sam Vaught

Sr. Teen Sonatina:

1. Darienne Patchett

Sr. Teen Ragtime:
1. Julianna Pikus
2. Angela Pikus

Sr. Teen Ensemble:
1. Jacob Merriman & Sam Vaught
2. Emily Malek & Katy Malek
3. Megan Moles & Molly Moles
4. Angela Pikus & Julianna Pikus

From the backyard to the State Fair: The best BBQ dishes

When it comes to barbecue, I've really only tried making such dishes myself a couple of times. This is partly due to my lack of culinary skills but also because I don't have a fancy-schmancy grill (actually, all I have is a crock pot and a tabletop Food Network grill).

My issue is of no concern to the contestants at Wednesday's inaugural Shoup's Country Backyard BBQ Cookoff at the Indiana State Fair. Some of the 15 entries brought in giant, fancy grills, while at least one other relied on an open pit to roast his meal.

Shoup's awarded medals to the top three winners in each of the four categories -- loin, ribs, open and hogburger -- in addition to medals and prizes to the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion, both of which scored the best once their entries for all four categories were added up. The Grand Champion even received a gas grill, $250, embroidered apron and chair, chef's hat and more.

And don't think every dish had pork in it -- one featured asparagus covered with cilantro and blue cheese sauce. Of course, there were also ribs and even pork-stuffed red peppers.

Miss the action? Here's a list of the winners:

Grand Champion
John Hillbert, Peru (featured in photo at top in the pig snout and chef's hat)

Reserve Champion
Mike Strong, Speedway

Loin
1st: John Hillbert, Peru
2nd: Pat Burkhalter, Mulberry
3rd: Danny Derrick, Indianapolis

Ribs
1st: John Hillbert, Peru
2nd: Greg Schiesser, Shelbyville
3rd: Mike Strong, Speedway

Open
1st: Greg Schiesser, Shelbyville
2nd: Nick Carter, Indianapolis
3rd: Mike Strong, Speedway

Hogburger
1st: Greg Schiesser, Shelbyville
2nd: Mike Mang, Frankfort
3rd: Craig Sheets, Kirklin

Shoup's also held a special category "Showmanship" that did not go toward the overall champion tabulation:
1st: Craig Sheets, Kirklin
2nd: Pam Nash Dobbin, Indianapolis
3rd: Nick Carter, Indianapolis

Submitted by Kristofer Karol

Barn-naming honors Pioneer Village founder

Since he founded Pioneer Village almost 50 years ago, Mauri Williamson has worked to preserve and present history to visitors in the small collection of old west buildings, antiques and farm machinery at the Indiana State Fair.

On Wednesday, Mauri became a part of that history when fair officials renamed the Pin-Framed Barn the "Williamson Pin-Frame Barn" during a special ceremony.

Fair officials kept the unveiling a secret and teased Mauri telling him they wanted to give him something that would last for a long time. Mauri, still with his signature sense of humor, quipped, "A car?" No, Mauri, not a car, but something that will likely last even longer -- his name on a building in Pioneer Village, one of the most popular attractions at the Indiana State Fair.

Pioneer Village began in 1961 as a simple collection of antique tools and has since grown to include an opry house, several vendors selling old-time goods like pottery and grain and many other attractions.

Below are a couple more photos from today's festivities:

Dozens greeted Mauri at the barn-naming on Wednesday. Mauri is positioned on the mid-right bottom of the photo in a red shirt and overalls.





From left to right: Indiana State Fair Commission Executive Director Cindy Hoye, Mauri Williamson and Indiana State Fair Queen Denae Pyle laugh it up during the unveiling.





Caption for photo at top of story: Are we at the "God Bless America" sculpture in Dow AgroSciences Celebration Park or Pioneer Village? Mauri and his wife, June, would make Grant Wood and J. Seward Johnson proud.


Submitted by Kristofer Karol