4-H Fair Opens Today

It’s opening day of the Hamilton County 4-H Fair.

And there’s a special celebration — a Bicentennial Groundbreaking — at 9 a.m.

And what a wonderful opportunity to talk about our 4-H Fair.

4-H’ers checked in their farm animals all day Wednesday — swine arrived at 7 a.m., llamas at 9 a.m., cattle, goats, chickens, goat, rabbits, sheep and waterfowl at 2 p.m., and horses and ponies at 4 p.m. — so the Fairgrounds today smells of horses, pigs and cows, like going to the farm.

And I also love the smell of the delicious foods — the ribeye, the lamb burgers and the rabbit brats — cooking on the barbecue grills at the Producer’s Tent.

And while I’ve said before that I look forward to the Fair food, I think everyone else does, too.

I often ask Fair-goers to share their favorite fair food.

A favorite of many Fair goers is the grilled cheese sandwich, available with a choice of American cheese on white bread or Swiss cheese on rye bread. The Hamilton Heights Husky 4-H’ers make and serve the grilled cheese as a fundraiser. They start warming up the griddles this morning, with grilled cheese being served 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the Producer’s Tent near the Small Animal Barn.

There are always lines. So I suggest getting out to the Fair before the lunch or dinner hour. Today, besides the Husky 4-H’ers grilled cheese, the Joint Producers’ Barbecue offers menu items from the Beef Producers, Sheep Producers and Pork Producers, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Each day, during the Fair, a different producer offers barbecue items from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Rabbit and Poultry producers on Friday, Pork Producers on Saturday, Sheep Producers on Sunday and Beef Producers on Monday. A Joint Producers Barbecue returns from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, Friday-Monday, plus 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday.

If you’re wondering what other foods are returning this year and what’s new to the Fair, you’re in luck. Because I have the inside scoop.

There is food fare for just about any palate. Hamilton County 4-H Junior Leaders serve pizza, hot dogs, chips and drinks at the Snack Shack 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Monday and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Silvernotes make their amazing Elephant Ears. First Christian Church sells corn dogs, sloppy Joe’s and breadsticks, and shrimp and chicken nuggets. Fishers United Methodist Church has tenderloin and fruit cobbler and ice cream. Husky Dawg Wrestling has walking tacos. Fishers Baptist Church has gyros and lemon shake-ups. Ice Guys has snow cones. Noblesville H & H has novelty candy. North Circle Church has funnel cakes and dill pickles.

Interestingly, corn-on-the-cob, which is always highly popular, will be sold in the Producers Tent tent this year. (Hopefully, there will be an express line just for folks who want the corn.)

Farm Bureau’s milkshakes and milk hit the spot on a hot day.

One booth that I didn’t see on the list, that we will really miss, is the Westfield Cloverleaves 4-H Club food stand, which traditionally offered a Fruit Slush for a dollar, one of the best bargains of the fair, plus healthy fruit, including apples and bananas.

Selecting Fair favorites from an array of food booths, it’s always nice to be able to dine outdoors on the picnic tables in the Centennial Pavilion gazebo or under the shade trees, which there are fewer and fewer.

One more thing. If you like home cooking and you want to get out of this week’s heat, or today’s chance of rain, depending on the day, you might venture into the air-conditioned Exhibition Hall, where Hamilton County Extension Homemakers staff the kitchen and serve breakfast, including biscuits and gravy, plus daily specials, taco platter today (no spaghetti and meatballs this year), chicken and noodles on Friday, meatloaf on Saturday and beef and noodles on Sunday. Hours are 7-10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. today through Sunday. The final meal will be breakfast, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday.

See you at the 4-H Fair!

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.