Minnesota State Fair | Beth Younker

Back in 2019 I wrote a post titled “The Great Minnesota Stay Apart”. It was the first year of COVID and was the first time in the history of the fair that it was cancelled. Well thank goodness it’s the ONLY time it was cancelled, and August 27 was our day to go. Of course, it’s not the fair without a little adventure, and this one started the day before with some interesting storms going through around dusk. Unfortunately, there was a second round of storms around 4:30 the next morning and those were WAY worse. Tree limbs came down, there was localized flooding, some of the vendors had things tossed around, and the corker was the loss of the cover of the Giant Slide. The slide has been a state fair staple for more than 50 years, and overnight the iconic green and yellow striped awning blew off. It just looks weird without it.

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota State Fair

The other thing that was odd was that for the first time in the entire history of the fair it opened late. Unfortunately not everyone got the memo and so there were folks that showed up at the normal time and then had to wait 2 hours in line just to get in the door. The moral of that story is, of course, CHECK YOUR APPS!

That aside, we had a great time although it was just a scootch humid. For those of you not from around these parts, ‘scootch’ s a Minnesota term, as in “I’m just going to scootch past you”. If you want to see some others check out this story on Kare11, one of our local news stations about a funny contest they were running to determine the best expression from Minnesota. They had brackets for voting and the winner was “You betcha” (which I could have predicted!) We were lucky enough to connect with a friend who was celebrating her birthday and spent most of the day with her. She’s a fair employee and takes vacation time each year from her ‘real’ job to work in the Creative Arts building so it was fun having her perspective and experience. One of the highlights was sitting in on a newscast at Kare11 which is another fair tradition and one we’ve never done usually because by the time we remember and get to to the broadcast area, it’s full and I don’t like just standing around. What made it especially fun was watching our friend be part of the broadcast by holding up a card displaying part of the weather forecast.

One of the most entertaining things we do at the fair is people watch, and this year provided no shortage of amusement. From the woman wearing a dreadlock wig that was blond and strawberry pink who we called “Strawberry Shortcake”, to the footwear that made me shake my head. Maybe it’s because I’m older and can’t make it at the fair unless I have on good, supportive tennis shoes but I am amazed when I see women in wedges or heels. How in the world can they walk around all day in those? And this isn’t like wearing them all day to the office. At an office you’re probably up and down, sitting to standing all day. Here at the fair the bulk of what you do is WALK. For us, I got in over 19,000 steps and had 6.6 miles in about 7 hours. Now, having said that, I do have to say maybe these same women are learning their lessons as I did see far fewer women in those shoes and a lot more tennis shoes and sandals but there were still plenty in odd footwear.

The blow-up stuff you can buy is funny too, like the 4-foot aliens. Seriously who buys those? Or the old record albums that were laser cut into different designs and then had a clock mounted in the middle or all the heavy blankets, fur pelts, winter coats and vests and a vendor with a lot of plaid flannel shirts, which of course are a nod to our governor Tim Walz. (And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know he is Kamala Harris running mate and the third Minnesotan to be selected for a possible VP slot.) but who looks at fur, flannel, and fleece in August in 85 degrees? I wonder how much they actually sell at these fairs.

As usual, by the end of our day I was so tired I could barely walk back to the transit center to catch our bus home but after a shower and normal food I slowly started to feel like myself again. Until next year, when of course I will have forgotten the humidity, joint pain and the fatigue, and will go with enthusiasm.

Well kids, it’s that time of year again in Minnesota, time to be thinking about putting away the white shoes (can’t wear ’em after Labor Day, you know!), stocking up on pens, pencils and getting the kiddos back to school and most of all, the Minnesota State Fair – except for this year.

Here in Minnesota, our state fair is almost a state holiday, and today would have been opening day. It’s so iconic that all we have to do is refer to it as “The Great Minnesota Get Together” and everyone knows what we’re talking about. The people watching! The shows! The food! The dairy barn! The midway! It’s all there, no matter who you are and what you enjoy for interests and hobbies. Unless you are genuinely afraid of crowds, the fair is one of the biggest parties of the year. While Texas is technically the largest state fair in the country with 2.25 million visitors each year, I would argue that Minnesota is the clear winner. Consider this: Sure, Texas has more visitors, but it takes them 24 days to get all those folks. We hit 2 million in 10 days last year. And Fair Park, where the Texas State Fair is held is ONLY 277 acres, compared to our 322 acres. So by both physical size and daily attendance, we are the largest.

I think most Minnesotans (and nearby Wisconsinites and Iowans) are in mourning with the cancellation of the fair this year. There is an an event coming up where folks had a chance to get tickets for a “State Fair Food Parade” and get some of the fair food like donuts, cheese curds, french fries and lots of other wonderful fair foods. Tickets were $20, and the plan is that you drive in to a proscribed route and purchase what you want. Apparently the site to buy the tickets crashed, it was so popular, and the event was completely sold out in something like 30 minutes. I’m about ready to go out and buy a deep fryer, just to make my own cheese curds and mini donuts. My husband and I go to the fair every year, and yep, each of us have our usual food favorites including spaghetti on a stick (mine), cheese curds (his) and Sweet Martha’s Cookies (ours).

What? You say you’ve never had Sweet Martha’s Cookies? Gosh, I don’t know what to tell you except they are kind of an out of this world experience. Imagine feeling tired and weary, having been on your feet all day.

Now get a plastic bucket about 8″ across and 6″ deep heaping with fresh, still-warm-from-the-oven soft chocolate chip cookies and a glass of cold milk. There isn’t anything better. (And when I say heaping, I’m SO not kidding. The workers pile the cookies in the bucket while you watch, and keep piling them until no more can be added without the next cookie falling off. Only then do they quit, giving you the lid to your bucket on the side. So of course you must eat some before you can put the lid on to head home!

We also love our people watching. We’ve seen just about every combination of attire, hair and makeup that you can imagine. I’m talking about guys in women’s clothes (but more like they just came from dress rehearsal for a really weird play) or women in guys outfits or someone dug in their mom’s closet and pulled out an outfit from 1967 and thought “hey, this will get attention” and put it on! Then there is the blue, purple and green hair, sometimes all three on the same person! It is so much fun to get a glass of cold lemonade and some finger food, find a bench to sit on near the grandstand and just watch people. Then there is the music, which is all day long at the fair, much of it free. With several different stages located throughout the park, and a variety of musical acts booked, virtually all tastes can be satisfied. Polka, rock, country, kids, Christian…it’s all there. About 10 years ago we were walking around one evening after dark and hear this woman singing on one of the free stages. Her voice was beautiful, absolutely haunting. We sat down on the grass and listened to her, and she was wonderful. She talked about how she really loved to visit here because her grandparents were from here so she had really good memories of Minnesota. Her songs were fantastic and we knew we were hearing someone that was on the edge of a career really getting started. We bought her CD – The Story – and I doubt you’ll find Brandi Carlisle giving free concerts now ANYWHERE, but it sure was great being at that one.

I’m sad we can’t be at the fair this year. I understand it, and am completely in agreement with the decision to not have one this year, but like most of our state, it just doesn’t seem like the end of summer without the fair. I look forward to our traditions like going to the DNR building to watch the fish pond, or climbing the fire tower to look out over the fairgrounds. If I’m really lucky, I’m there the same day as either my niece or nephew and can meet up with them in the beer gardens. Last year my nephew’s girlfriend was there and spent a little time with us, which was wonderful. We even ran into my niece unexpectedly outside the food court – 200,000 of your closest friends roaming around 300 acres, and she spots me from a few yards off! What a lovely and unexpected surprise.

I hope by this time next year we’re all returning to our traditions, they’re so special, and maybe I’ll get to surprise my niece, her husband and their new baby next time.

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