By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Farmers’ Day, a fixture at the Indiana State Fair for decades, will feature a new show this year called the Chelsea House Orchestra (CHO).

The CHO is a high school orchestra student ensemble from the Chelsea Public Schools in Chelsea, Mich. It was started by Jed Fritzemeier, director of the schools’ orchestra program.
The idea behind the CHO, which was started in 1996, was to get students excited about playing an instrument and performing in public.

“We wanted to allow any kind of folk music that was fun,” Fritzemeier said. “They’re pretty comfortable with the music. They’re not worrying about what their fingers are doing.”

The CHO’s sound reminds one a little bit of the Scottish group Highland Heartbeat that sings and plays the fiddle on public television, but the CHO has many more performers.

“I have 100 kids playing violin, viola, cello and bass,” Fritzemeier said.

The CHO plays many concerts in Michigan, but not many out of state. One exception to this is the Edinboro Highland Festival in Edinboro, Pa.

“We’re kind of excited to be honest,” Fritzemeier said of the upcoming performance at the Indiana State Fair. “It’s a pretty big deal for us.”

Jim McEwen, an Indiana State Fair organizer, met Fritzemeier years ago when he was in Michigan on other business and found out about the orchestra.

“This is the first time the CHO is here,” McEwen said. “We’re kind of promoting people from Michigan to come down.”

Maurie Williamson, executive director of the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Assoc., has been manager of the Indiana State Fair since 1961. He said he stepped down from the position last year, but finds that he’s doing the job again this year, anyhow.

Williamson explained that Farmers’ Day used to be “when the farmers used to come, but now they come everyday.” Farmers’ Day, and Farmers’ Day Parade, take place on Aug. 19.

The parade takes place on the fairgrounds racetrack. He said it used to be that nearly half of the visitors to the fair were farmers anyway, but those times are past. Part of his responsibility is the Pioneer Village Museum, which is a large annual display at the state fair.

“We have a huge collection of agricultural artifacts,” Williamson said. “It’s a huge living history museum.”

He also said there will be a large tractor farm show, featuring about 200 pre-1970s tractors.

“It’s really high quality,” he said.

Williamson described the CHO as “outstanding” and the fair as a whole as “good, cheap entertainment.”

The Indiana State Fair runs from Aug. 7-23. It costs $8 to get in. The CHO performances, which run a half hour, will take place on Aug. 19 at 9:30 a.m. at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand, and at 1pm and 4pm at the Pioneer Village Opry House. Those performances are free.

Farmers’ Day takes place on Aug. 19 and starts out with a farm bureau breakfast. It costs $3 and runs from 7-9:30 a.m. Proceeds from the breakfast will go to the Indiana FFA.

The parade starts at 10 a.m. at the fairgrounds racetrack. Farmers’ Day festivities will wind up with a performance from the Oak Ridge Boys with Larry Gatlin. That will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand. Tickets are $20, $25 and $39. There are lots of other displays and activities throughout the day.