Minnesota State Fair

For 10 days in late August each year and through Labor Day, the Minnesota State Fair runs. If you happen to be in the Twin Cities area at the time, be sure to take at least one day and go to this fair.

I grew up attending good county fairs and was surprised that most county fairs weren’t really very good. Then my wife and I lived about an hour from the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and decided that one day we would go. This is a fair not to be missed. There is something for everyone.

I grew up in agriculture, so the agricultural sections are of great interest to me. I always like to walk around the dairy barn and see what fine examples of dairy cattle are there. If you’re interested in a specific breed of cattle or other animals, you’ll want to see a schedule because not all breeds are there all the time.

Along with the livestock shows and shows, there are also competitions that are fun to watch. My wife has always liked to go the day they have the horse jerseys. It was a very nice thing to see.

Away from the agricultural areas are also commercial buildings. There you can find commercial boots with almost anything imaginable. The reason these buildings are so interesting is that the products are very innovative and not readily available, and you can talk to a vendor, often the developer of the product, about the product. Many times we have bought some things that we still use to this day, and have never seen them anywhere else before or since.

We always have some regular activities that we do when we go to this fair. We always go to the “All You Can Drink” milk stand. This is a sponsored by the Minnesota Dairymen. It’s an octagonal building with what looks like beer taps all over the inside and a bulk milk truck backed up by the building. The last time we went, you paid fifty cents and you could drink all the milk you wanted. That’s great!

Another thing we always do is go to the chip stand. In this business they cut fresh potatoes into thick fries and fry them. They had three or four different sizes and malt vinegar and ketchup to put them on. In my opinion, there are no better fries on the planet.

We have since moved from Minnesota, but plan to visit at the end of the summer and spend a quality day at the Minnesota State Fair.