INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Sheep Association (ISA) is sponsoring sheep-themed competitions, vendors and educational opportunities at this year’s Indiana State Fair with assistance from the Sheep and Wool Market Development Program (IN S&W).

Competitions will begin July 30, with the Make it With Wool Competition and fashion show at 2 p.m. The competition showcases participants who have hand-made outfits from wool and wool-blend fabrics. On Aug. 2, the Shearing Contest will feature professional and amateur sheep shearers competing based on the factors of timing, handling and accuracy as they shear sheep back-to-back beginning at 5 p.m.

Open Class Wool Judging will be Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. The public is welcome to watch and listen to the judge’s comments and placement. On Aug. 20, fair attendees can witness the annual Sheep-to-Shawl competition from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in which four youth teams and one adult team will rush to finish a wool shawl from scratch, beginning with spinning wool into yarn and ending with weaving the pattern together all in an allotted four-hour time frame.

Sheep can be found in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion off and on Aug. 4-20 for open and 4-H shows. For a more detailed schedule of when you can see sheep at the fair, please see the 2023 Indiana State Fair Livestock Schedule found at www.indianastatefair.com.

In addition to competitions, fairgoers can enjoy other related activities. The ISA Wool and Ewe Room, located in the lobby of the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, will open on the first day of the fair, July 28. Attendees can find the Wool Competition entries along with products ranging from hand-made goods out of various Indiana-based vendors to livestock/country-themed fashion, décor and handy items of interest to any fairgoer prepared to shop. Across the street, fashion-interested shoppers can find western, show and country apparel and jewelry at Ewe 2, the Wool Room’s sister shop.

On Aug. 10-11, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., ISA will hand out free samples of lamb summer sausage to fairgoers in the Indiana Farm Bureau (IFB) Fall Creek Pavilion as part of the IFB’s Taste of Indiana Farms event. Each year, thousands of fairgoers line up to receive free food samples and learn a little bit about agriculture in the process.