This past week was the annual Minnesota State Fair, and I had the greatest joy of being able to return to my home state to visit the greatest of all festivals. If you know anything about me, you know how much I love I have for these great get-togethers, and the pride I feel for the Great Minnesota Get-Together. The Minnesota State Fair has been running since 1859 and has the highest daily attendance of any state fair in the country (total attendance is lower only than Texas’, and that's just because they run for an extra two weeks).
There are many reasons the MN state fair is the best of the best, but in case you haven’t yet had a chance to visit, here is a list of the best reasons.
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1. Franchises of Fair Foods!
Recently, when I visited the Texas state fair to investigate the veracity of their second place national standing, I was quite disappointed to see that, while they did have a variety of interesting food vendor signs, most of the venders sold the same type of food. The Minnesota state fair has an amazing variety of different kinds of food options for every kind of person!
5. ...And everything on a stick.
Plus lest we ever forget the plethora of foods sold on a stick, from pork chop on a stick to spaghetti and meatballs, or hot dish on a stick, there are endless options.
6. But always trying new things!
Every year, the fair has new vendors innovating new different foods!
7. The Grandstand Shows
They’re fantastic! From the Dixie Chicks to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, there are all kinds of fantastic options to delight the listener's ear!
8. The Animal Barns
The animal barns are always a favorite! From seeing the amazing variety of chicken species to petting the friendly sheep and goats, there is always something for everyone (except if you have an allergy, then I would recommend staying far, far away). And the alpaca both is always a must-visit — the baby alpacas are literally so. Cute.
9. The Colosseum Shows!
There are all kinds of shows that go on here, and if you have never seen horse show jumping or roping, this is a great place to start (or at least find a seat to escape the crowds outside and just chill in the AC for a while)!
10. Ye Old Mill!
This ride is over 100 years old and while the little scenes inside range from adorable to almost-creepy, it is an essential aspect of the fair experience.
11. The Sky Lift!
A fantastic way to transport yourself across the fairgrounds when you’ve already gotten enough steps for the day and are really just needing a little break (not to mention the fantastic arial people-watching possibilities).
12. Free Wi-Fi!
What could be better than saving $$ on data so you can spend more on food?!
13. The 11 p.m. Daily Fireworks Show!
They are beautiful and honestly a lot better than the majority of fireworks you see on the Fourth of July!
14. The Miracle of Birth Center
This is a wonderful building where you can watch more than 200 baby pigs, cows, sheep, chicks and ducks be born each day! The adorableness meter is a little off the charts (just as long as you have a little bit of midwest farm life in your blood and don’t mind watching the literal process of birth that continuously goes on).
15. The Food Building!
If you haven’t noticed yet, probably the most important aspect of the fair revolves around food. The food building is a hot spot for the more “meal-like” food options, as well as the notably fantastic mousetrap cheese curds (took me until coming to college in Texas to realize that cheese curds is just a Midwest thing). And finally, you can’t go through the food building without going past the nitro ice cream booth and grabbing a bite of one of their fantastic samples!
16. The Rides!
Whether you’re an experienced purveyor of the Mighty Midway or want to stick to the spinning strawberries, there are all kinds of sometimes questionable-looking rides to choose from!
17. The Dairy Building
The Dairy Building is a fantastic place to grab a delicious chocolate malt made from really, really fresh milk and to visit the most famous gal on the grounds, Princess Kay of the Milky Way! This annual pageant selects a dairy family gal and sculptors compete to form her likeness in about 80 lbs of butter to win the grand prize.
18. The DNR Building and Fish Pond
Growing up with my mother (who is very involved with conservation and natural resources in Minnesota), this is where I spent a large majority of my childhood visits to the fair. From playing the educational wastewater computer game to staring at the circling fish in the pond for hours on end, there are all kinds of great educational aspects of this memorable building.
19. The Eco-Experience
This is another building where I spend a large chunk of time growing up — the rest of the time was spent in the Horticultural building — and a definite must-visit for anyone even remotely interested in sustainability (so basically that should include everyone). The trash-nado is always very impressive, and the new stuff they add to it each year always leaves me having learned something when I walk out.
20. The Arts and Crafts Building
This is a building I did spend much time in until recent years! The seed art is simply amazing and the quilts terrifyingly tedious-looking. (To say the least, I am not much of a seamstress.) Also in that building are many booths with different kinds of crafts, one of which was a scarf making booth where you could dye your own scarf! It was so awesome!
21. The People-Watching
Lets be real, this is literally the best part of the fair.
22. Tradition and seeing old friends
The state fair is a very strong tradition for a large number of Minnesota (and also many out-of-staters who know the secret of how amazing it is) and is a fantastic way to hang out with friends and family as there is always something for everyone! Also, because such a large number of people visit the fair each year, I literally cannot go a day in the fair without seeing someone I know. (Recently I was buying a caramel apple and realized the person selling it to me was the older sister of a girl I did swim team with in high school!) Additionally, the state fair is simply just an important part of Minnesota history. Did you know that the Minnesota State Fair is where Teddy Roosevelt gave his famous speak softly and carry a big stick speech in 1901? Like, how cool is that?
