Locally grown food for tummies, and experiences and education for hearts and heads, will be highlights of the 54th Annual Hawaii State Farm Fair this weekend at Kualoa Ranch.

Staged by the Hawaii Farm Bureau and the state Department of Agriculture, the event ties in support from other partnering organizations, including the 4-H, which will feature prize-winning animals raised by its youth members.

Competitive eaters will have a chance to earn bragging rights in the paiai-eating contest sponsored by Kamehameha Schools, or the watermelon-eating or chili pepper-eating contests.

Also, one need not be from Nebraska to participate in the corn-husking contest.

“It’s our 54th year and I think that’s significant,” said Brian Miyamoto, Hawaii Farm Bureau’s executive director.

“People still remember it from the McKinley High School days,” he said, adding that over the years the fair has moved from McKinley High to Aloha Stadium to Kapolei, then to Bishop Museum. Since 2012 it has been held at Kualoa Ranch, a 4,000-acre working cattle ranch, private nature preserve, filming location and visitors attraction.

THIS YEAR’S theme is “It’s Ag-tastic!” and the fair seeks to showcase all those involved in agriculture in Hawaii — the farmers, ranchers, government entities and nonprofits that support traditional and diversified agriculture across the islands.

The Keiki Hands on the Farm area is interactive, Miyamoto said, and gives children a chance to experience what a day on a farm might be like. It will include an incubator for hatching chicks, a miniature John Deere-style tractor and a life-size cow replica that can be milked.

If that doesn’t burn up kids’ energy, there will also be bounce houses and various rides.

The Agriculture Department’s Education Pavilion will highlight the “Buy Local, It Matters” initiative, with agencies conducting outreach and educating the public, as well as farms such as Hanalei Taro &Juice Co. of Kauai selling value-added products such as taro mochi and kulolo, Miyamoto said.

Nearly a dozen food vendors will be there, offering 48 comestibles to keep attendees fueled and cooled through the many farm fair activities, including a plant sale that organizers believe is the state’s largest.

The food vendors are regulars at the Farm Bureau’s Oahu farmers markets, and all source their ingredients locally, said Kacey Robello, general manager of the bureau’s farmers markets.

Prepared food available for purchase will range from popcorn and ice pops to local pineapples and coconuts. There will also be Mexican and Thai food, burgers made with grass-fed beef from Kualoa Ranch, roasted corn, plate lunches and more. Prices will range from about $5 to $10.

Patrons who do a lot of shopping can drop off their bags at a will-call area to avoid carrying around their purchases while they enjoy the fair’s activities.

The Hawaii Farm Bureau is Hawaii’s largest nonprofit agricultural organization. It advocates for and represents about 2,000 farm and ranch family members statewide.