The largest annual youth event in Indianapolis, with career shows, competitions, concerts and award ceremonies for Future Farmers of America students.
The National FFA Convention takes over the Indiana Convention Center from October 21 to 24, 2026. It's the biggest youth event Indianapolis hosts every year, bringing in Future Farmers of America students from across the country for a few days of career shows, competitions, concerts, and award ceremonies. If you've lived here a while, you know the city changes when this hits—thousands of students in blue corduroy jackets filling the downtown streets.
The scale is hard to overstate. More than 60,000 attendees are expected, which makes it the largest annual youth event in the city. It's not just one thing, either. The career shows put students in front of industry professionals, the competitions let them go head-to-head in their respective fields, and the award ceremonies recognize the top performers from the year. Between those, there are concerts and social events that keep the energy high throughout the week.
Because it's a national convention, the crowd comes from all over the U.S., not just the Midwest. That's a good part of the draw—seeing students from different states and backgrounds all gathered around the same interest. It's a massive gathering of young people who've spent their year working toward this specific week.
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It runs from Thursday, October 21, through Sunday, October 24, at the Indiana Convention Center downtown. With over 60,000 people expected, it's one of the biggest crowds the city sees in a single event.
