Fair '25

   

   We want the Minnesota State Fair to stay the same, yet we also want new features and foods every year. I normally try to avoid crowds but the crowd at the Fair is fun to look at. They're relaxed, except for the little kid having a meltdown because his mother won't let him eat the french fry he dropped. She offers him a new one and squashes the dropped one with her foot but he just howls louder.

   I'm a penny pincher by nature, but I bring pockets full of cash to the Fair, plus two credit cards in case one is declined. We start the day oblivious to prices. We have empty stomachs and full pockets. We can  have a pronto pup and a malt for $24. That's a reasonable price though not a healthy meal. You don't go to the Fair for your health, though mental health experts say it's good to get out and see other people.

   We used to park on the Fairgrounds. Parking cost less than an admission ticket to the Fair and it was nice to have your car handy at the end of the day when you're tired and dusty. In the morning you waited in a long line to even get into the parking area. Then the price started creeping up. When they reduced the size of the parking area to build more Fair features, the price skyrocketed.

   Now we arrive at the Fair on a bus like most other fairgoers. There are express busses from outlying areas or you can park at one of the surrounding churches which make their parking lots available (except on Sunday morning). Busses makes a constant loop between the lots and the Fair. Nice. Unless the bus is just pulling away as you arrive. A church volunteer under a canopy says there'll be another bus soon and mental health experts say to relax and enjoy your surroundings.  

   Breakfast at the Fair can be like home. There are only two church stands serving bacon and eggs left from the almost one hundred a century ago. Or you can have a breakfast burrito, or lefse and lingonberries, or a Scotch egg, or even a spam muffin. There won’t be this much food diversity within walking distance until next year’s Fair. 

   We have a routine of must see things. The 4H building is a sentimental favorite for Teresa. When she brought her Brown Swiss dairy cow to the Fair a many years ago, she slept upstairs in the sweltering dorms in a triple decker bunk. The Blue Ribbon entries in the display area rebuke the old fogey belief that the younger generation is going to hell. The adjacent crafts building entries show that the old fogeys haven't lost it yet.

   The Arts Building is best seen early in the day when our brains are fresh. Inside are hundreds of paintings and sculptures by Minnesota artists. Some are weird which is ok, but most are entertaining and impressive. There’s an Eco Building that teaches how we're killing Mother Earth, but also shows there's hope if we mend our ways and stop pooping in our living room.

   We check out a couple of merchandise marts. Christmas is coming. But the bloom is off the day and our coffers are feeling lighter. We watch the crazy rides that fling people high in the air for large amounts of money. We skip our traditional corn on the cob and head to the transit hub. We have a funny bus driver who does a Fair trivia quiz. "Who's the only president to visit the Fair?" "Teddy Roosevelt!" several riders answer in unison. "Speak softly and carry your hot dish on a stick," he said during his visit.

Statler and Waldorf appear at the seed art exhibit.