The Pork Festival is the pride and joy of Tipton, a small town in rural north-central Indiana. It is held on the first weekend of September, running from 11 in the morning on Thursday, and wrapping up at 10 in the evening on Friday. The focus of the festival, of course, is the pork, specifically in the main pork tent, but there are a lot of other highlights.
A 34 year tradition for the town and area, the pork festival hosts a host of tents, booths and trailers, serving both pork and all other sorts of fair foods and confections. But there's more than pork in Indiana - The fest is graced by an art tent with judging, for local (mostly young) hopefuls; there is a 'Princess Pageant' for the young girls of town and a 'Miss Pork Cuisine' pageant for the Tipton's grown graces; there are two parades, the starter on Thursday and the Grand on Saturday; there are fair rides (and foul rides); and there are a mass of concerts and performances by local and less local musicians.
So forget the State Fair! Ignore the New Year! Cut the cow and chuck the chicken, and come on down to Tipton's own party, the Pork Festival!
2003: This year's pork festival will be held on September 4th-6th. To find the fair, travel south from Kokomo or north from Noblesville on State Road 19; you'll run right into it.
A point of interest is the nearby town of Atlanta with its own fling, The New Earth Festival, at the end of September.