FLORIDA FEDERATION NEWS continued………………...……………………………... The Indiana State Fair does an amazing job with their
theme and integrating it throughout the grounds. The 2011 Fair was the “Year of the Soybean” and there were soy- beans everywhere, from the gift shop to the soy biodiesel fueled tractors that ran the trams. We happened to be
us Florida folks, it reminded me of Epcot and their coun- tries. They also had a Senior Building where they had ven- dors and activities geared toward Senior Citizens. I thought that was a great idea! At every Fair we saw familiar faces, whether it was
there on AAA day and that was a great show of things that can be done for sponsorships. AAA was on “skins” on the pavement, or arches, and even on the shirts that the park- ing attendants wore. There were some things in Indianapolis that I’ve never
seen. First, would be their Natural Resource Building where they had ponds outside with native fish, which in- cluded sturgeon! They also had a fishing pond where their Wildlife Officers taught children about their state and let them fish. In their Farm Bureau Building they had “A Taste From Indiana Farms” where patrons walked through and received samples of food stuffs from the state of Indiana. The most shocking thing was the free range guinea hens that were running around. They were the cutest things, and they were running around through display corn fields and
the “Little Hands” Farm, which was started at the Indiana State Fair. On Friday, August 19, we traveled to Springfield, IL to
the Illinois State Fair. The grounds were large with a lot to see. Most of us rode the tram to see all of the grounds before deciding which direction we wanted to go first. While on that ride we saw another cool Natural Resource area. At the Illinois State Fair, they had a large pond where you could canoe in a large tribal canoe. Illinois also had some very interesting things. They
had an “Ethnic Village” with booths from various countries where you can sample foods from different cultures. For
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Kevin McGrath in Iowa, Eddie Porcelli In Indiana, or Tim O’Brien in Illinois.
It was nice to see our Fair Friends! There was so much that each one of us could take
home to learn from and just simply marvel at. It is evident that agriculture is HUGE in the Midwest! All the Fairs fo- cused on this and it was very educational for someone that doesn’t know much about corn and soybeans. For exam- ple, in Iowa, they had photo ops everywhere! That is something that could be taken back to every Fair. They had many kinds, ranging from grape bunches in the winery area to the famous butter cow. It helps to continue the tra- dition of the Fair. Which brings up another point, it is obvi- ous how much tradition and heritage each Fair has. It’s so nice to see the history of the grounds, not to mention the Fair itself. It was also strange to be at a Fair when it was so hot!
Here in Florida it’s more common to be cold during a fair than as hot as it was in Indiana and Illinois. I think each of us found every air conditioned space, and be assured; they were sometimes hard to find! In conclusion, this was a great experience that each
one of us surely enjoyed immensely. And we hope to con- tinue this tradition started by our current Federation Presi- dent, Happy Norris, CFE, Lake County Fair, FL. Person- ally, I have de- cided to create my own “Fair Bucket List.” And I hope that you are in- spired to get out there and visit Fairs at home and throughout the country.
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