Tag Archives: Minnesota state fair

September 3, 2022 · 7:25 am

Minnesota State Fair 2022

It’s been another different year at the fair. We have gone to the fair on opening day since before I can remember. And then we’ve always gone at least one more time, sometimes more. Last year was the first time we didn’t go more than once due to Covid. Okay, 2020 too but there was no fair then. I’m glad that I went last year but didn’t feel very comfortable and wore a mask on the bus as well as in the buildings. This year’s opening day was so crowded! From the moment we entered I could tell it was going to be a very busy day. One reason we like going on opening day is because it’s typically calmer. But I guess since we haven’t had a “normal” fair in three years everyone was excited to go this year? Maybe.

It was so crowded that we weren’t able to view the crop art in the Agriculture building, one of my favorite things to do at the fair. We checked twice and both times the line was out the door to the crop art room. And I didn’t want to wait in the crowd. Bummer. But we enjoyed what we did see: the animal barns, the great art in the fine arts building and a trip on the Sky Ride. And I got my pronto pup as well as a chocolate malt from the Kiwanis stand outside the fine arts building. Best malt at the fair! I have no idea if they’re any different than the malts in the dairy building but I’ve always liked the Kiwanis malts. This first gallery contains photos from opening day:

We decided to go back on the second “seniors day” a week after opening day and wow, what a difference! It was so nice and calm and oh, so much more pleasant! We have always started our day, on opening day, with breakfast. This year our plan was foiled because, did I mention the crowds at the get-go? Oh my gosh. I wasn’t prepared to not have breakfast! We planned to have breakfast at the Hamline Church Dining Hall, the last church dining hall at the fair. Previously we went to the Epiphany Diner but that went away several years ago. Hamline was already packed with a line of about 20 people out the door when we got there about 8:30. Okay, regroup and this was a first: we decided on pronto pups for breakfast! Yum! On seniors day we had breakfast at The Peg, something new for us. It’s the only full service restaurant at the fair and it was great!! One difference I noticed was when the food comes, it is hot! As opposed to the dining halls where you put food on a tray and make your way through the line, find a table and by the time you eat, the food isn’t hot. Perhaps we’ll make The Peg our new annual breakfast spot.

And I may have been the first one in the Agriculture building when it opened at 9:00. Well, I certainly was the first one in that door. And I headed right to the crop art: no line!! There were maybe 3 or 5 of us checking out the crop art. Now this is the way to do it! We perused the flower displays in those rooms of the Agriculture building as well. They rotate every two days so these were different displays than opening day, and we didn’t even venture into the flower rooms on opening day. Just too many people for my comfort level.

Other photos from our second trip to the fair:

One fun thing from our second day was the Sky Ride. We did some shopping at the Grand Stand and we were just about done so decided to take the one way Sky Ride to get us closer to the entrance for our bus home. As we waited I spotted and photographed the Hippie (or Flower Power) car and as it happened we got to ride in it after we made our way through the line! En route inside our fun hippie car we heard a young girl yell out “Flower Power!!” and hubby yelled back “Peace, Love and Ringo!” Too funny. One of the best Sky Rides ever!

We stopped at the DFL booth and a nice volunteer asked if we’d like our photo taken, so there we are with President Biden and Vice President Harris. We were each given a soy bean to vote our most important issue this year. Abortion Access was winning at the fair as well as across the country! The last photo in the next gallery is hubby discussing issues calmly with a volunteer at the Republican lieutenant governor candidate’s booth. This is the way to do it, calmly discuss. Neither could change the other’s mind and they ended their chat positively agreeing that it is important to vote.

All in all, it was a great two times at the fair. Until next year!

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October 30, 2021 · 6:46 am

Minnesota State Fair in pandemic times

This was such a different year for the fair. We did not have the fair last year due to the pandemic so we were glad to be able to go this year! I’m still working through how I want to create posts about our North Shore vacation in August so in the mean time I thought I would add my state fair post.

We always take a free bus to the fair and this year masks were mandated on the bus, except that they weren’t enforcing it, at least not on our bus. I counted 8, mostly young people, not wearing masks.

I decided to wear a mask while in the buildings and my daughter wore hers most of the time. It wasn’t my favorite visit to the fair due to the continuing pandemic but I’m glad we went. Normally we go more than once since it’s held for 10 days ending on Labor Day. I was just too uncomfortable to go another time.

I thought I would share some photos of our day and I’ll start with the photos from the art building. We always check out the art and this year was no different, except for the masks. This gallery displays some of my favorites. Click on any photo to open the gallery and view larger photos:

Next, a few Peanuts statues that live at the fair:

We always visit the agriculture building and especially the crop art. But the line was long for the crop art, my daughter had to get to work and I felt uneasy being in that room with so many people, so we stepped out of the line. So we didn’t see much crop art this year but I did capture a couple of them on our way out. Here are the scenes from inside and outside of the agriculture building:

Next, a few more fair scenes. Hubby and daughter decided to go on the big slide and I wish I had captured hubby’s face when he got to the bottom. If I had to describe it, I think it would be something like “whew, I made it!” Later he said that was probably the last time he’ll go on the slide. He said he got a little scared when he was air-born at one point. The first photo is a band we always stop to see on opening day, Darlene and the boys. I am pretty sure I have seen the older couple dancing in years past. In this photo the older couple is teaching the younger couple some dance moves.

I’m hoping next year I’ll feel more comfortable to do more of the things I enjoy at the fair. We didn’t make it to any animal buildings, for example. And no shopping at the grandstand. I just wanted to minimize my time inside buildings so ended up limiting that to the art and ag buildings. Again, I’m glad we went but I’m sure hoping for a more “back to normal” fair next year.

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September 28, 2019 · 8:01 am

Minnesota State Fair 2019

It’s time for my annual recap of our trips to the fair. We did opening day a little differently than most years where we all have the day off and go together. One big difference this year is that I no longer have a parking spot on the St. Paul campus which meant a different way to get to the fair. And I didn’t have enough vacation days to take the opening day off. Instead, hubby and Miss M met each other at the fair and I met up with them a few hours later.

All the lots had filled up by before noon I believe but I know there is a first wave of people who went to the fair early and after lunch, they were ready to head for home. I timed it perfectly and found a parking spot about 3:00 on opening day. And the bus came five minutes later. On other trips we weren’t as lucky and had to wait for a bus for about 30 minutes once. Taking the bus is a great option for us as there are many lots nearby to park for free and the bus takes you to the fair for free. We even tried a different lot this year because we had volunteered for a 2 hour stint at my new department’s tables at U of M Central in the Crossroads building. And that was a Sunday which meant that all the church lots around us didn’t open until 1:00 and we had to be there at 11:00 so we parked in another lot not owned by a church. It went amazingly well :)

We had lots of fun at the fair again this year. Great food, great company, great art and great stuff in the agriculture building, as usual. Fantastic crop art again this year and you’ll see some of that in my galleries below. We saw some animals and old tractors too.

For the floral displays in the center of the agriculture building this year was a theme of “Minnesota Grown”. Here’s the wording from the fair’s website:

This year’s floral extravaganza features large-scale handcrafted and personalized designs created by local florists to celebrate the lives of iconic “Minnesota Grown” hometown legends such as Judy Garland, Charles Schulz, Prince and others.

I really enjoyed this year’s floral extravaganza. I actually never knew it was called an extravaganza. The things one learns. Below is a gallery of those displays. I loved it so much I had to take a second and third look. See what you think.

this and one other spun around and you look through kaleidoscopes, cool!

Prince

Prince display Ag building-MN state fair

Judy Garland

Wizard of Oz

Paul Bunyan

beautiful flowers

Charles Schulz

Peanuts

F. Scott Fizgerald

beautiful orchids

Next, some scenes at the fair:

long line for apples, Ag building

Champion Sugar Beet, Ag building

mushrooms, Ag building

cactus, Ag building

serious learning going on, U of MN building, MN state fair

we love pronto pups-MN state fair

random band playing

never saw these crochet displays before, Creative Activities building

Elvis in crochet, Creative Activities building

sky ride, early morning

random beauty at the fair

random wood sculpture

big gourds-MN state fair

Another great year for art, both in the art building and the crop art in the agriculture building:

Stan Lee, crop art

Frida Kahlo, crop art

Apollo 11 50th anniversary, crop art-MN state fair

Political crop art

interesting crop art

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, crop art-MN state fair

Albert Einstein made out of folded up magazine pages

art building

Prince made out of folded up magazine pages, art building-MN state fair

First Avenue panorama, art building

First Avenue close-up, art building

To end, here are some antique machines and some animals that we saw:

Horse building-MN state fair

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September 8, 2018 · 7:05 am

Minnesota State Fair 2018

We never miss the fair and this year we went three times. We always go opening day and this year’s crowd was dizzying. Sure enough, it broke the record for opening day attendance. I met hubby and Miss M mid morning as I had to work a few hours that morning and I knew the moment I entered the fair that it would be a big crowd, it already felt that way.

I went right into the grandstand to peruse their wares until I heard when to meet hubby and Miss M. Right off the bat I found a fair shirt. The state fair gift shop in the grandstand moved making it more centrally located and it pulled me right in. I bought the shirt on our way out that afternoon. I also found some great Christmas gift items so I was feeling fairly accomplished!

I met my family near the sky ride outside the Agriculture Building. I always go into the Ag Building. I love the flower rooms, the crop art, the scarecrows, U of MN apples, the biggest gourds. So much to see in the Ag Building! There was a long line for the crop art and it was that way with each of our visits this year. I did wait in the line on opening day when we went back later. You don ‘t have to wait in line, but if you want a front row spot to take photos, it works better to wait in line.

We got our buttons at the Admin building, we do that every year too. They’re free and it’s fun to see the new design every year. This year it’s a circle of guitars and the wording is Minnesota’s largest music festival. I never thought of it that way but I can see it now. Lots of music entertainment options for sure! From the various free stages all around the fair or the grandstand show, there is something for everyone musically speaking at the fair.

We always tour the art in the art building and there were lots of gems in there again this year. I usually get a malt from the Kiwanis club next to the art building but Miss M wanted to get one at the dairy building to see her friend who was going to be working there at 3:00. Well, we could barely breathe with the wall to wall people at the fair that day so we decided to just get the malt earlier than 3:00 at the dairy building. That turned out to be so fun!! Miss M saw one of her buddies working and he erupted with happiness after she handed him the ticket for the malt and he realized it was her. It was adorable.

We left shortly after the malt, it was well past time to go. It was fun but our next visit was even better in terms of a much more subdued crowd. I met hubby from work the following Thursday afternoon. As soon as I arrived it also felt different. It was much calmer with a lot less people. And the weather was perfect too. We had so much fun finding things to buy. We like to visit the international bazaar to check out the music and do some shopping. Hubby found a new Day of the Dead shirt, I got a new mug both from El Burrito Mercado, a Mexican imports shops. Hubby found a new silver pinky ring and we got Miss M maple syrup made by Native Americans. It was a fun shopping year this year!! I don’t usually find that much to buy but this year was different.

We decided to go back a third time this year just because and hubby wanted to see the newspaper museum again. We live 5 miles away and there are many free park and ride buses to the fair that make it easy for us to get there. We thought there might be less people on Sunday vs. Saturday and we opted for the bus this time, to go in a different gate than when we use my U of MN parking spot. We were right about there being fewer people but wrong about the weather. Oh it worked out alright but it wasn’t ideal. No matter, we still had fun. We hadn’t yet ridden the skyride, something else we usually do, because those lines were too long in previous visits. But not on our final visit. Because it was raining, there was virtually no line at the skyride. Score!!! We did get a little wet but it was better than walking to the grandstand for one last shopping spree. And I can add riding the skyride in the rain to my list of things I had not done before.

We didn’t find anything at the grandstand but I took the opportunity to finally try a roasted corn on the cob. I’ve been going to this fair since 1992 and I’ve never had a corn. This last trip to the fair the timing was perfect. And it was excellent and so juicy!! We got back on the skyride since we’d be leaving from the front gates and went back into the Ag building to see if the flower rooms were open yet. They were both closed temporarily for judging as soon as they opened the building so we had to come back. And we only got to see one room since the other was still closed for judging. I did get to see the room at a distance and the dahlias in the other room were just gorgeous!

I feel so fortunate to be able to go to the great Minnesota get together every year. I think we’ll go three times next year too. Why not?

Following are some galleries of fair memorabilia that I hope you will enjoy. First up is a combination of all our visits to the Agriculture Building:

largest gourds

largest sunflowers

fall display

we’re not Roseville, heh

MTM

loved these glasses!

Aretha

girl with her dad, ag building

girl with corn

dahlia

dahlias we could only view from afar

bird of paradise, reminds me of Malaga and southern California

loved this bouquet

dahlia

floral display

Next is a gallery of our visit to the newspaper museum and the art building:

an old printing press-newspaper museum

free first amendment posters

sea houses-Bruce Nygren

sculpture in the art building

textile category in the art building

bovine moon

Van Gogh made from discarded art magazines

The remaining gallery are photos of other things at the fair:

girl with Wisconsin Spudmobile

girl with cookies

girl with cow

horse barn

sheep

this sheep was not happy

resting under the skyride

dairy building chocolate malt-worth the wait

much prettier in person

cool trash cans

Princess Kay butter sculpture-dairy building

old tractor

looks like we found a tractor museum

washing machine from 1935 in tractor museum?

John Deere tractors

not John Deere tractor

YUM!!!!

not many lines in the rain for Sweet Martha’s cookies

Workers squeegying the giant slide-from skyride

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September 16, 2017 · 7:00 am

Minnesota State Fair 2017

Woo hoo! It’s time for my annual post about the Minnesota State Fair!

We always go to the fair opening day and it seems every year it feels more crowded. I checked out the fair’s website and found some interesting numbers. I wasn’t imagining it. Each year on opening day for the last two years the attendance increased. Between 2017 and 2016 it was almost 6,000 higher! There were three record-breaking attendance days this year, the most record breaking days in three years. Plus, this year’s total attendance is the highest ever, another record broken. So, yes, there were lots more people at the fair this year.

No matter, we still enjoy it and this year was no different. I went twice. Opening day was fun but by 1:00 it was getting too crowded so we called it quits early. For my second visit, I met hubby there one late afternoon from work the following week. I park my car like I’m going to work and walk on over to the fair. Very easy!

On opening day we headed over to Minnesota Public Radio after breakfast and were treated with a handshake from our governor! He went one by one in the small crowd and shook each of our hands. He commented how brave Miss M was for wearing short sleeves as it was in the upper 50s at that moment. So that was fun! We also saw Al Franken posing for photos with a constituent.

Governor Mark Dayton

Al Franken and a constituent

The agriculture building is a must for me for each visit. Some of the exhibits change every other day so it’s worth it to see other types of flowers when you can. First some crop art:

MN State Fair-RESIST(crop art)

ick

Our senator Al Franken

Still mourning the purple one-MN State Fair(crop art)

solar eclipse

cool owl

yep

In the next gallery is a little bit of everything else that I saw in the ag building:

the largest gourds-MN State fair

wedding place setting

autumn place setting

part of Alice in Wonderland display

bees making honey

hubby being a good sport

random flower display, 2nd visit

Make America Grate Again scarecrow

is that spoon and fork new this year or have I never noticed?

And then some other scenes at the fair:

Live performance by Romantica at MPR

funniest thing I saw this year: several official selfie spots in the pavement

result of one of those selfies

art building

art building – ewie

art building – Bruce Nygren(MN State Fair)

from the sky ride

different kind of geese

different kind of duck

rooster

another rooster

lambs at rest

llama

another llama-MN State Fair

I hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s tour of the Minnesota State Fair. I’ll be back soon with a few more travel adventures. I hope you’ll come along!

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November 12, 2016 · 10:07 pm

Minnesota State Fair 2016

Guessing most of you know that we always go to the state fair. Every year, without fail. And now that I think about it, this is one thing I will really miss when I leave Minnesota. A wonderful treat every year. Although this year we noticed it was a bit more crowded. The attendance numbers seem to go up each successive year. Hubby went to the fair while I was in California over Labor Day weekend and he said it was the most people he’s ever seen there! Indeed, that was the record breaking attendance day this year with just over 260,000 fair goers. I’m glad I missed it.

Coming up are this year’s favorite photos from the fair. I hope you enjoy!!

First up, various scenes at the fair.

Lucy

Snoopy

Bruce Nygren, hubby’s favorite artist in the fine arts building

first time ever watching a horse competition

Llama!

another llama

We always visit the agriculture building:

largest ghourds

pretty bouqet

gorgeous dahlia

This year’s crop art had many Prince tributes. I think the Prince crop art overtook the political art this year. We sure miss our native son rock/pop star:

Crop art at the fair featuring Prince

third eye

Dig if you will(crop art at MN state fair)

hopefully Elizabeth gets to keep her birth control

Crop art: I’m so sorry Mr. Khan :(

the new world order: fascism I guess!!

This last gallery displays something that I imagine has been at the fair the entire time we’ve been going (about 25 years). We decided to take a short cut and ended up going through this very interesting log cabin. It’s directly across from the agriculture building and it never beckoned to us. And now I’m at a loss a little bit to explain what this is exactly since it’s been almost 3 months since I took these photos. As near as I can remember this is a replica of a type of cabin the earlier pioneers in Minnesota would have lived in. It’s a museum with items from daily life from those days. These are the folks that lived in Minnesota before it became a state in 1858. Oh, ah, I did find this link with a bit more information in case you’re interested.

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September 4, 2015 · 6:21 pm

The great Minnesota get-together 2015 version

If you’ve been following my blog you probably know that we always go to the Minnesota State Fair, affectionately referred to as the great Minnesota get-together. I was about to say this year was no different. Well, it was no different in that we went to the fair as is our tradition. But this year was a little different because we decided to park on campus at the University of Minnesota. I have a parking pass because I work there. For the past I can’t remember exactly how many years, we have been doing the park and ride. We park at the high school and a bus eventually takes us to the fair. The last several years have been challenging because there are never enough buses first thing in the morning and it takes 40 minutes to go a few miles. So, yes, let’s try something new and park at the U!

It worked great! Oh, except that it was much more walking. The U only allows you to go into the newer gate which is several blocks from my parking ramp. So that part wasn’t so great especially at the end of your day and you cannot walk another step. However, on opening day we took the sky ride from the south end of the fair to get us closer to the parking ramp instead of walking across the fair again. That worked great.

Below are several galleries of my visits to the fair this year. I hope you enjoy!!

Let’s start in the agriculture building. A must every year and we usually go more than once.

a simply decorated Christmas tree

it smelled like Christmas in there

a wall of plates, not sure what it was about

funny scarecrow

another scarecrow

Make a wish foundation display

apples

interesting plant

another interesting plant

fungi display

The crop art display is also an annual event. We never miss the crop art. And this year I went twice because after we viewed the art on opening day I learned that someone I knew had an entry! So I had to go back and get a photo of it. But the second time I went it was crowded again and I couldn’t get a good, close shot. Here are some of my favorites this year.