The annual cheese sculpture continues to bring guests udder delight at the state fair

It was gouda vibes at the Indiana State Fair Wednesday with the unveiling of the annual cheese sculpture. It’s the 19th year the fair has commissioned the sculpture. 

The art installation takes inspiration from this year’s fair theme “The Soundtrack of Summer.”

Over the past week Sarah Kaufmann, known as the Cheese Lady, has been churning out the piece with her cheddar half Nancy Baker.

“This represents about 285 hours of work,” Kauffman said. “We just work [and] focus. We don’t do anything else but sculpt.”

The piece features a jukebox with lights, a milkshake on a turntable and lots and lots of cheddar cheese, about 1,500 pounds. The white and yellow cheese was donated by Pace Dairy , a supplier for Kroger, located in Crawfordsville.

Cheese sculpture assistant Baker said she was especially excited to incorporate the turntable with the shake into the sculpture.

“I’ve always wanted to use a turntable with some of my food art, and so I thought this would be the perfect chance,” Baker said. “It just gives an extra little wow.”

Kaufmann said if people look closely at the sculpture, they’ll find subtle nods to the nutrition that dairy provides.

“We try to incorporate as many messages very subtly, like the calcium, riboflavin, thiamine, zinc, b2, b5, b9, A, D, C, all the vitamins that are an essential part of dairy products,” Kaufmann said.

The sculpture will be on display in the Ag/Hort building now until the last day of the state fair on Sunday, August, 17th.

The cheese masterpiece will then have a second act following the end of the state fair. It will be moooved with other organic-byproduct from the fair to an aerobic digester in northwest Indiana where it will be converted into energy.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05