A few weeks ago, I was selected as a Gastronaut for Dig IN- A Taste of Indiana, an event that showcases quality, locally produced products. My co-workers can vouch for this- when I was selected, I literally did laps around the office. I love food. I love local. I love Indiana. It’s as if this event were made for me and I am so excited to be a part of the team to help promote it.

So why should you go? Dig IN provides Hoosiers a chance to sample dozens of dishes from local world-class chefs. There will be cooking demonstrations, local music, gardening exhibits, wines, craft beers, and more. And it all takes places in picturesque White River State Park in the heart of Indianapolis on Sunday, August 26.

You all know how much I love food, so I am really looking forward to sampling as much as I can. Fellow food blogger and friend Sara Croft will be my partner in crime, and together we hope to sample everything Dig IN has to offer. Here are some of the dishes I am especially excited about:

Goat and Indiana Ambrosia, Craig Baker, The Local Eatery and Pub

Bell Aquaculture Perch Tacos with Indiana Sweet Corn Relish, Mark Marlar, The Oceanaire Seafood Room

Waygu Tongue & Cheek Tacos, Aaron Butts, Joseph Decuis

Unlimited Tomato Caprese, Tyler Herald, Napolese

Sunking Braised Duck Fried Pie with Blueberry BBQ Sauce & Charred Sweet Corn Salad, Joseph Hewett, The Indigo Duck

Chilled Peach Soup with Smoked Duck Salad, Regina Mehallick, R Bistro

Braised Bison Shoulder with Succotash Savoy Cabbage & Horsera Creme Fraiche, Brad Gates

Duck Confit Slider, Justin Cowan

Slow Smoked Bison Taco with Indiana Pico & Goat Cheese Slaw, Jeff Ford, J. Ford’s Black Angus

To follow all of the chefs and restaurants participating in Dig In, follow this list on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DigINDIANA/diginrestaurantschefs/members

Another cool feature… FOOD TRUCKS. In Fort Wayne, our food truck culture is just getting off the ground, but Indy has a robust food truck culture and I am looking forward to not only trying some of the fare, but talking to these business owners, as well. It’s no secret that we’ve been considering a Ginger Kitchen food truck for some time, so I hope I have a chance to pick their brains a bit. If not, I will certainly settle for eating what they have to offer. Here’s the lineup: Big Green Bistro, Duos, Spice Box, and Scratch.

For more information about the event, please visit http://digindiana.org/. VIP tickets are $60, regular tickets are $40.

If you can’t make it to the event, follow Sara and me. We will be live tweeting the entire event.

*Dig IN has provided me with two VIP tickets to the event and have asked that I help promote it via Twitter and Facebook.