Every year the Kentucky State Fair lures us Louisvillians to the fairgrounds with the prospect of a donut burger to be washed down with an ice cold lemon shake-up — although this year we tried the ribeye sundae too.
While all the over-the-top fried foods + sweet fair treats are worth the annual trip, we’ve got a few, bigger things in store for you this year. We’re showing you 5 of the biggest, most enormous, and massive things you can see all in one place.
🎃 Ginormous gourds
Location: West Hall
Exhibitor Josh Monin took home the winning ribbon this year in the Largest Pumpkin Contest. His giant gourd hit the scales at 1,508.2 lbs — that’s about as heavy as a cow.
🍉 Massive melons
Location: West Hall
In comparison to the largest pumpkins these watermelons might look a little puny, but don’t be fooled, the winning melon — submitted by Frank Mudd — weighed in at 248.8 lbs.
🌻 Hefty sunflowers
Location: West Hall
They may not be the prettiest flowers of the bunch, but what they lack in good looks they make up for in size. Out of 10 entries for the biggest bloom, Sloane Roberts’ sunflower won with a 17-inch diameter.
🫀 A big heart
Location: South Wing C
You can look and touch this giant inflatable heart that’s part of UofL Health’s booth in the Health Horizons portion of the wing. As you walk through the interactive human heart you can also hear it beat. Bonus: You can also get a free health screening while you’re there.
🚜 A colossal tractor
Location: South Wing A
Located in the Agland exhibit is this ~30-foot wide piece of farm machinery by John Deere called the C12F Folding Corn Head. While it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, it’s actually a common piece of equipment used to harvest corn, soybeans, and other crops by cutting the plant close to the ground.
Bonus: Everything’s bigger at the Texas Roadhouse free concert series and the two heavy hitters on this year’s lineup are Trace Adkins on Fri., Aug. 26 + Niko Moon on Sat., Aug. 27.
