The end of summer brings the Minnesota State Fair, held annually on Labor Day and the eleven days preceding it. From August 25 through September 5, this year, somewhere near 1.7 million people will attend the end of summer party which showcases Minnesota's agriculture, art, and industry. If you've been there, you know that it is big and it has more than anyone can see in a day or two. If you haven't had the pleasure of attending the fair, it would be worth a try.
You can divide the fair into a few general parts. There's exhibits, fun stuff to do, entertainment, and food.
Exhibits range from commercial and corporate to livestock and environmental. Entertainment is free except for grandstand features, and it has included past performances ranging from John Phillip Sousa to Christina Aguilara and auto and horse racing. The Fair was the site of Teddy Roosevelt'e Big stick speech in 1901. He was actually scheduled to do two speeches, but the first one gave him a severe case of laryngitis, and he had to cancel the second.
The midway is as large as any state fair could expect to be, and larger than most. The Tilt-A-Whirl was a Minnesota invention that made its debut at the 1927 Minnesota State Fair. A product of the Sellner Corp. of Faribault, MN, it is a mainstay of just about any carnival of any size.
Besides the midway attractions, there are an aerial skyway, slide, a few bungee-like things, and much more.
Entertainment is free on at least three stages, and it's pretty much nonstop from morning until closing. Check the link for details.
Many people claim to go to the Fair for one reason and that's the food. As a chronic eater, I always enjoy food, and the Fair is no exception. Everyone has their favorite Fair food, and mine is the honey ice cream at the agricultural building. Popular are the corn dogs (310 calories) with over 500.000 sold per year, and the cheese curds (475 calories) with 2.6 million sold yearly. That seems like a lot of cheese curds. New foods are introduced annually, and this year there will be sweet corn ice cream, chocolate covered jalapenos on a stick. I'm not planning on getting in line for either.
One of the more publicized attractions is the butter sculptures of the dairy industry's winners of the annual Princess Kay competition recognizing young women whose families are involved in Minnesota's dairy industry. It takes a chunk of butter weighing somewhere near ninety pounds to make one of these sculptures, and you can watch Linda Christensen work her magic with a butter knife at the dairy building. She has been sculpting Princesses' heads at the fair for forty years.
If I have a favorite attraction, it's probably the Pet Center, where you can watch scheduled demonstrations of dog 
obedience, agility, and other companion and performance events. The building also has a working surgery unit which performs various surgical procedures for your viewing pleasure. They narrate the surgery, usually a spay or neuter, and there's always a good crowd present. This may not be the absolute top attraction at the fair, but being a part of a demonstration group has allowed my dog to get into the fair several times over the years. This year, the office assistant will take a day off to attend.
Pre-fair discount tickets are available through August 24, the day before the fair opens. Most Cub Foods Stores in the Minneapolis St. Paul Metro area are selling tickets, and there are many other ticket outlets throughout the state. It's a good idea to plan ahead if you want them, because each location has a limited supply which they generally will not replenish. Unless you go directly to the fair box office on or before August 24, you can't count on a specific outstate location to have any tickets left.
The Minnesota State Fair can be a great reason to make Minnesota your late summer getaway destination. For our neighbors in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, or farther, why not plan a few days visiting us? While you're here you may want to do some back to school shopping with no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota.
All photos courtesy of Minnesota State Fair
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