INDIANAPOLIS — What will $2 get you in 2025? Quite a bit if you are at the Indiana State Fair on a Tuesday.
Jamisyn and Levi, a young brother and sister duo, are getting chocolate milkshakes at the Dairy Bar.
"We have had a corn dog with ketchup, and we had some of our mom's mac and cheese," Jamisyn shared while taking more bites out of her chocolate shake.
On a normal day at the fair, those milkshakes would be $5 each. A normal corn dog runs around $7.
On $2 Tuesday, however, each of those items only costs (you guessed it) $2.
Every food vendor around the fairgrounds has an item available for $2. Everything from mini lemon shakeups to three chicken nuggets to pickle-on-a-stick is available at different stands for $2 each.
Two dollars also gets young fair-goer Emma on her favorite ride.
"I'm going to go on the caterpillar rollercoaster!" exclaimed Emma.
Emma told WRTV that she had $10 for rides, which meant she got to go on five rides because all tickets in the Midway are also $2 each.
$2 will even get you into the fair. Admission at the gate is normally $16, saving you $14 per ticket thanks to the promotion.
These savings helped the Carr family from Fishers come back to the fair for a second visit.
"When we came the other day, it was like $60 bucks," Erin Carr explained. "Today it was like $16, so it's a pretty heavy discount."
Saving money on admission, fair food, and rides... are there any downsides?
"It was just the line to get in was super long," explained Carr.
Many fair-goers were stuck in long parking lines.
It took WRTV 41 minutes to get through the line outside of Gate 6, drive to the infield, and get into a parking spot.
Some folks in the parking lot mentioned they had been in the same parking line for over an hour.
Although the day is all about saving money, parking will still cost you $10 at the fair, even on $2 Tuesday.
If you're looking to save money on parking, you can ride IndyGo's Purple Line bus to the fairgrounds. The bus lets off right outside the front gate on 38th Street.
You can also pedal to the State Fair. There is a free bike parking area right next to the Monon.
The area is monitored by volunteers, so your bike will stay safe while you enjoy the fair.
"This is a really nice, easy to get to, and nice way to get into the fair," explained volunteer Karen Bayne. "Then also, you don't have to pay the rather expensive parking spots."
How many bikers took advantage of free parking today?
"125 so far today," Bayne told WRTV around midday.
Bayne says the most bikes they've ever had parked is 257 in the same day.
Hundreds of Hoosiers took advantage of the discount day, leading to crowds not just in the parking lot, but all around the fair.
Despite the long lines, fair-goers still had lots of smiles, taking in everything that $2 can buy you.
Jamisyn and Levi shared their favorite part of the fair.
"Old tractors!" exclaimed Levi.
"Milkshake!" exclaimed Jamisyn.
