It’s the “cheesiest” thing you’ll find at the Indiana State Fair! American Dairy Association Indiana celebrated the unveiling of their 19th annual “Grand Cheese Sculpture” inside the Mercantile Building (formerly the Ag/Hort Building) earlier this week.
“We started out with 1,600 pounds of mild yellow cheddar from Pace Dairy in Crawfordsville—that’s the very same cheese you get at Kroger in the dairy case,” says Sarah Kaufmann—also known as “The Cheese Lady”!
She tells Hoosier Ag Today it took her and her team more than 285 hours to make that “cheesy” work of art celebrating this year’s Indiana State Fair theme: The Soundtrack of Summer!
“We have our beautiful ‘Melody of Cheese’, and we have the cow dancing and playing the guitar,” says Kaufmann. “Our jukebox is the main focus here. Of course, we have our Key Lime Milkshake featured at the Dairy Bar incorporated into the cheese sculpture. We always like to tie-in those subtle little messages that deliver our dairy message with fun.”
Janet Dague is an Indiana Dairy producer from Fulton County and serves as President of American Dairy Association Indiana.
She says the Grand Cheese Sculpture brings awareness to the nearly 700 dairy producers all across Indiana.
“This is where we get to showcase what we do in a fun and entertaining way,” says Dague. “The more milk everybody drinks and the more cheese that everybody eats, the more milk I can produce!”
Sarah adds that after 19 years of creating the Grand Cheese Sculpture, it’s not only become a tradition—but it’s one of the biggest attractions at the Indiana State Fair.
“Many people tell me, ‘I come here every year and this is my favorite thing at the Indiana State Fair—and they’ll show me pictures from 10-15 years ago! Some people even take photos of the Grand Cheese Sculptures and use it for their Christmas card!” says Kaufmann.
Read more about American Dairy Association Indiana by visiting WinnersDrinkMilk.com.
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