Just a few months after wrapping up 2023's fair, Indiana State Fair officials are hard at work preparing for next year's event. The first big step towards the 2024 fair was recently taken when the Indiana State Fair unveiled the theme for the 167th annual fair.

Drumroll Please...

The theme for the 2024 Indiana State Fair is THE ART & NATURE OF FUN, which will be activated through a celebration of art and nature and promises to provide an unforgettable experience for every guest.

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Cindy Hoye, Executive Director of the Indiana State Fair says,

The art & nature theme reflects our commitment to bringing together the creativity of art and the wonders of nature to inspire and engage our visitors.  We are so grateful for our neighbors at Newfields and are beyond thrilled to bring our community together and create a true Hoosier Masterpiece next summer.

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The 2024 theme is presented by Newfields, which is an internationally renowned art institution, with 152 acres of beautiful parks and gardens. This exciting new partnership between Newfields and the Indiana State Fair will provide several new, unique experiences for fairgoers next summer. Newfields President & CEO, Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, had this to say about teaming up with the Indiana State Fair...

Newfields is excited and proud to be the presenting sponsor of the 2024 Indiana State Fair. It is an honor to be a part of what the fair does best—showcasing what makes our state a wonderful place to live, work, and play. Newfields' mission is to enrich lives through exceptional experiences with art and nature.  This partnership is a wonderful opportunity for us to bring the beauty and magic of Newfields to the wider community, celebrating all things Indiana.

The 2024 Indiana State Fair returns Friday, August 2nd through Sunday, August 18th, 2024 (Closed Mondays).

KEEP READING: 40 Real Indiana Towns with Quirky, Weird, and Funny Names

Outside the major cities, the Hoosier state is full of tiny little towns you've probably passed through on your way to one of those cities. Most of them are likely 100 to 150 years old, or older, and have been around far longer than the large metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Typically, they were started by early settlers who found their way to the state and decided to make it home. Eventually, others would join them, and a community was formed. Over time, as the surrounding areas grew, most of them were folded into those areas and governed by the nearest city or county's governing body officially making them "unincorporated," meaning they did not have their own formally organized municipal government.

A scroll through Wikipedia's long list of unincorporated communities in Indiana shows several of them have names that by today's standards would be considered weird, quirky, or just downright right funny. These are my 40 favorities.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

38 Celebrities Who Were Born in Indiana

There are a bunch of famous folks that everyone knows were born in Indiana, but there are even more that you didn't know about. Most of this list is arranged in alphabetical order, except for the handful of celebrities born in our neck of the woods here in southern Indiana. I gotta give them a little preferential treatment.

Gallery Credit: Bobby G.

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