Tumbledown and family attended the sesquicentennial (150th) celebration of the Indiana State Fair
on Friday and was pleased to see that farming--especially the raising of animals (poultry and rabbits, cattle, horses [especially draft horses], sheep and goats, and swine) and the history of farming--are still central to the event.
Tumbledown always enjoys a visit to the Pioneer Village, with its array of antique tractors and its focus on demonstrating traditional arts and crafts. But he was disappointed as usual to see most of the equipment (threshers, shellers, plows, and the like) sitting on the floor gathering dust or hanging from the rafters like so many "objects de art."
One area certainly worth the effort of a visit is the art exhibition entitled "Painting Indiana II: The Changing Face of Agriculture," a collection of 40 paintings on the third floor of the Clarian Health Home & Family Arts builiding. The exhibit is a collaborative effort of The Barn (The Center for Agricultural Science & Heritage; contact Justin Armstrong, jarmstrong@indianastatefair.com; and see the article in the Indianapolis Star) at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. The work of these ten "plein air" painters is certainly worth seeing "life size" as well as in the book by the same title. Of course, Tumbledown appreciated the paintings based on "the family farm" and nearly choked on the one that showed a space-age hovercraft harvesting corn. "Just sayin', 't'aint nat'ral."
Another highlight was the blarny spun by a young lady from "Barn Tours" of Granbury, TX.
But most of all, it was and always is the animals that grab Tumbledown's attention, especially the "World's Largest Boar"
and the Grand Champion and Reserve Champion Sows with their litters.
Enjoy the menagerie.
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