Send out the group text and start planning your Indiana State Fair girls’ night out!
The 2026 Indiana State Fair runs August 7-23 and is closed on Mondays, giving you plenty of opportunities to grab your friends and enjoy the Fair without the kids.
Whether your ideal girls’ night includes cocktails, carnival rides, shopping, Fair food, live music, or simply wandering around talking without being interrupted every 30 seconds, the Indiana State Fair makes a surprisingly fun night out.
Want to save money while you’re there? Check out our guide to Indiana State Fair discounts, admission deals, food specials, and Midway savings.
Ideas for Your Indiana State Fair Girls Night Out
There is so much happening at the Indiana State Fair that you could visit several times and have a completely different experience each night.
Here are some of our favorite ways to spend a girls’ night at the 2026 Indiana State Fair.
Grab a Drink at The Taproom
Yes, The Taproom is back on the Indiana State Fair’s official 2026 entertainment lineup.
Duck inside, grab a drink, find a place to sit, and take a break from the Fairgrounds bustle with your friends.
It’s an easy spot to work into your evening when you want to slow down for a few minutes before heading back out for food, rides, and entertainment.
Plan Your Girls’ Night for $2 Tuesday
Girls’ night on a budget? Even better.
The 2026 Indiana State Fair has $2 Tuesdays on August 11 and August 18.
On both Tuesdays, you’ll find:
$2 Fair admission
$2 Midway rides
$2 food options at each participating food stand
The promotion runs during Fair hours on those dates.
For a group of friends, this is one of the easiest ways to make a night at the Fair ridiculously affordable.
If Tuesday doesn’t work for your group, check out our list of free things to do at the Indiana State Fair.
Ride the Free Tractor Shuttle
Give your feet a break and hop aboard one of the free tractor shuttles.
The shuttles travel around the Fairgrounds and make it easy to cover more ground without spending your entire night walking.
Shuttle service is free and operates Tuesday from 10 am-5 pm and Wednesday-Sunday from 10 am-10 pm.
Grab your Fair food, find a seat, and enjoy the ride while you decide where to head next.
Wander Through Pioneer Village
Pioneer Village is one of those Fair areas that can be easy to rush through when you’re visiting with kids.
Girls’ night is your chance to slow down.
Wander through the historic exhibits, check out vintage farm machinery, watch demonstrations, listen to music, and explore whatever catches your attention without anyone begging to go back to the Midway.
Pioneer Village is open daily from 9 am-8 pm during the Fair.
Take All the Group Photos
A girls’ night deserves photographic evidence.
The Fair has an official Selfie Photo Trail around the grounds, plus plenty of colorful backdrops you’ll stumble across throughout the evening.
Take photos under the Midway lights, with your outrageous food finds, on the Skyride, in front of Fair signage, or anywhere else that makes you stop and say, “Wait, everybody get in.”
This is not the night for being too cool for group selfies.
Shop ‘Til You Drop
One of the best things about an adults-only State Fair visit is having time to actually browse the vendors.
The Mercantile is an indoor marketplace filled with unique finds, treats, gifts, and vendors. It’s also home to the famous State Fair Cheese Sculpture and the CANstruction display.
You can also shop original artwork in the Indiana Arts Building, visit the DNR Gift Shop, browse wool products in the Blue Ribbon Pavilion, or pick up official 2026 Indiana State Fair merchandise.
The official Fair gift shop, produced by United State of Indiana, has locations inside the Mercantile and under the Grandstands.
And yes, you may still find yourself inexplicably considering the purchase of a hot tub at the Indiana State Fair. It’s part of the experience.
Ride the Midway
When was the last time you and your friends screamed your heads off on a carnival ride together?
Exactly.
Head to the Midway and embrace being a kid again for the night. Ride something that spins way too fast, challenge each other to carnival games, and see who can win the most ridiculous stuffed animal.
If you’re visiting on $2 Tuesday, August 11 or 18, Midway rides are just $2 each.
Take the Skyride
Want something slightly calmer than being flipped upside down on the Midway?
Take the Ball State Skyride across the Fairgrounds.
It’s especially fun around sunset or after the Midway lights begin glowing. You’ll get an aerial view of the Fair and a chance to sit down for a few minutes while still feeling like you’re doing something.
Eat Your Way Around the Fair
Girls’ night calories don’t count.
That’s how this works, right?
Split a few outrageous foods so everyone gets to try more than one thing. The 2026 Fair has both its annual Taste of the Fair competition and a $5 Value Menu, giving you plenty of excuses to snack your way across the Fairgrounds.
Check out our guide to Taste of the Fair before you go and make a list of the foods your group absolutely has to try.
One person gets something sweet. One gets something fried. One gets something completely unhinged.
Then share everything.
Go Full Nostalgia at Rewind: A VHS Revival
New for 2026, Rewind: A VHS Revival takes over the Harvest Pavilion with a celebration of movies, music, video stores, and pop culture nostalgia.
You’ll find oversized movie poster art, themed displays, interactive experiences, and plenty of reminders of life before streaming.
It’s open daily from 9 am-9 pm and is included with Fair admission.
If your group has ever debated which ’80s or ’90s movie is objectively the best, prepare to continue that argument here.
Play Free Mini Golf
Nothing brings out your friends’ personalities quite like miniature golf.
Head to the Corteva Agriscience FFA Pavilion and challenge each other to a free round of putt-putt, available daily from 9 am-8 pm.
Loser buys the next round of Fair food.
Catch the Big Top Circus
Yes, a girls’ night at the Fair can include a circus.
The Big Top Circus presented by Bee Window has free performances daily at 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm.
The 7 pm performance fits nicely into an evening itinerary before heading over to the Free Stage or Midway.
Enjoy Live Music on the Hoosier Lottery Free Stage
One of the best reasons to plan a girls’ night at the State Fair is the Hoosier Lottery Free Stage.
Concerts are included with paid Fair admission, and general seating is first come, first served. You can also bring your own lawn chair.
These 2026 performances are still coming up:
Josiah Queen
August 9 at 7:30 pm
Clayton Anderson
August 11 at 7:30 pm
Vixen and Warrant
August 12 at 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Busta Rhymes
August 13 at 7:30 pm
Grand Funk Railroad
August 14 at 7:30 pm
DJ Golden Hour: A Tribute to Demon Hunters
August 15 at 7:30 pm
Trace Adkins
August 16 at 7:30 pm
Latino Day con Los Sementales de Nuevo León
August 18 at 7:30 pm
Happy Together Tour
August 19 at 7:30 pm
Gene Simmons
August 20 at 7:30 pm
Sammy Kershaw and Craig Morgan
August 21 at 6 pm and 7:30 pm
Don McLean
August 22 at 7:30 pm
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
August 23 at 7:30 pm
The lineup is subject to change, so check the Indiana State Fair entertainment schedule before you go.
Explore the Indiana Arts Building
Take some time to wander through the Indiana Arts Building and look at work created by Hoosier artists.
Make your own awards. Decide which piece you’d actually hang in your house. Debate the winners.
You can also shop select original paintings, photography, prints, and other artwork while you’re there.
Make It a Baseball Night
The 2026 Indiana State Fair theme is Always a Hit!, presented by the Indianapolis Indians.
Lean into the theme and stop by Schumacher Stadium, the Fair’s new wiffle ball diamond in the Meijer Family Fun Park.
It’s open daily from 9 am-8 pm and free with Fair admission.
There is absolutely no reason the kids should get to have all the fun.
Finish the Night Under the Midway Lights
Before everyone heads home, take one last walk through the Midway after dark.
The lights, music, rides, food stands, and general chaos are completely different once the sun goes down.
Grab one last snack, take one last group photo, and start planning next year’s girls’ night before you even leave the Fairgrounds.
Plan Your 2026 Indiana State Fair Girls Night Out
The 2026 Indiana State Fair runs August 7-23 and is closed Mondays.
Whether your group comes for a concert, plans around $2 Tuesday, wants to eat everything in sight, or just needs an excuse to spend an evening together without the kids, there’s plenty to fill an Indiana State Fair girls’ night.
Grab your tickets for the fair soon! With so many things to see and do, your Indiana State Fair girls’ night out is sure to be a memorable one.
We also love a girls’ night out at a Colts game!
The Indiana State Fair is just one out of 101 things on our summer bucket list this year.
