Former FFA member Taylor Swift will dominate Indianapolis at the National FFA convention

Indianapolis, Indiana – You’re likely to see a blue corduroy jacket anywhere you look in downtown Indianapolis. For the more than 70,000 FFA members that serve the Circle City, they are their calling cards.

A variety of states, including Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, and others, are inscribed in large gold letters on the jackets’ backs.

Emma Neth, an FFA member for Mississippi, remarked, “I’ve never seen so many people from all over at one place.”

Students have the opportunity to network, determine their career goals, and build contacts at the National FFA Convention.

In order to compete in FFA activities and make new friends, Neth stated, “I want to major in Ag marketing and hopefully attend an Ag college. This will give you connections and opportunities that regular kids don’t have.”

Many of these members aren’t accustomed to spending time in a large metropolis, therefore it’s also an opportunity to do so.

It’s enormous. “Seeing all these people is kind of crazy because there are about 300 people from where our school is,” said Kadence Smith, a senior FFA student from a small city in southern Illinois.

The blue corduroy jackets also resemble green dollar signs to downtown business owners.

Sauce on the Side owner Kels Watson declared, “I’m going to be here all night and I’ll be here all day tomorrow, too.”

One of their busiest periods of the year, according to Watson, is the National FFA Convention.

Watson remarked, “I’ve already seen people from last year.” When they return, I simply recognize their faces and say, “Hey, welcome back.” It is pleasant to see you once more.

Additionally, Watson praises the FFA students.

Watson described the person as “very nice, very courteous, very polite, and very patient as well.” “They never rush us, even though they know there are 70,000 or 65 people here.”

Perhaps the busiest time of the year for downtown Indianapolis is beginning with the National FFA Convention. The sequins and sparkles will settle in when the blue corduroy comes off. A little over a week remains until Taylor Swift’s three sold-out performances at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“With so many people coming in, I think everyone is just expecting to be really overwhelmed in the city,” Watson remarked.

Downtown has already been overtaken by the Swift craze. Taylor Swift’s likeness is emblazoned on the facade of the JW Marriott, and there are traffic signs with her image on them.

Over 180,000 of the approximately 200,000 visitors that Visit Indy anticipates in the Circle City will be from outside the Indianapolis metro area.

That equates to at least 270,000 individuals in downtown Indianapolis over a 12-day period.

Watson added, “It’s going to be a good two weeks because we have a Pacers home opener on Sunday.”

These next two weeks could be the busiest time of the year for downtown Indianapolis tourism, which is smashing all previous records.