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At the Minnesota State Fair

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Minnesota State Fair set an attendance record this year, nearly 2 million people. That included 171,299 on the last day of the 12-day run, Labor Day. There were also more than 35,000 entries in the ag and creative competitions.

So Ross and I headed to the Great Minnesota Get-Together last Saturday. It didn’t turn out to be one of the record attendance days fortunately. We managed to reach Falcon Heights a little after noon. But then came the wait as we inched along the street that went by the fairgrounds in search of any form of parking. There were places with signs that said $20 or $30 to park in some business’ lot. There were folks hoofing it down the street from points unknown. I’m sure one has to be in the know when it comes to parking at the state fair, especially cheap or possibly free. We eventually found a spot and started making our way to the entrance. Even as we were walking along there was a woman trying to sell tickets to get in, saying “avoid the lines” at the entrance. Most of us walked on by until we got to a legitimate-looking booth. And the lines were not long.

The first order of business was finding food. At the entrance we came in at had the International Bazaar not too far away, along with the horticulture building and a few other booths and buildings. The Peg cafe seemed to call to us. It’s been around for quite a few years, serving breakfasts, something called a Boss Hog sandwich (sliced ham, shredded barbecue pork, bacon chipotle mayo, pepper jack cheese, coleslaw), burgers, fries, chili dogs, grilled chicken breast and desserts and beverages. We had a California burger and fries (Ross) and a barbecue pork sandwich and fries (me). It was awesome and filling.

After eating we entered the horticulture building. It was busy in there, and there was a line to see the crop art. I actually started looking at the crops entries themselves, looking for familiar schools. Some crops were from Red Rock Central, Jackson County Central and I did locate one from Lakeview. There’s always a good variety with the crop art, and this year included ones of Prince, Buster Keaton, a tiki mask, some references to Trump, and Pusheen (an animated Internet cat). You have to admire the patience and creativity it takes to make these crop art pieces.

I’m not sure if we had a definitive plan of what to see while we were at the fair. When I go, my goal isn’t to try new fair food or unusual food. I think my favorite is visiting the MPR booth. Getting around isn’t the easiest at the fair, as many can probably attest to. There were times when it seemed like we, along with countless others, were walking as a swarm down different streets. And when you’re a little claustrophobic and introverted, it can be a bit stressful. But I managed.

We hit the 4-H building that contained many kinds of projects before the parade made its way down the street. We also made a stop at the Minnesota Newspaper Museum. It celebrated its 30th year at the fair and contains old printing presses a couple of linotypes and other items of a 1930s-era newspaper. As a journalist, it’s a must-see.

We made our way through the Fine Arts building, parts of the Eco building, the display of antique tractors, the Giant Sing Along, where we did our best at crooning “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham and the Butterfly House. I have a penchant for butterflies, so I paid to have us go inside. It was jam-packed with people and humid. A butterfly landed on my shirt right away and pretty much adhered itself to me. That was nice, for a while. We didn’t spend that much time in there as it was warm. I told Ross I appreciated that he went in with me.

Later in the afternoon, we made our way to the MPR booth. It’s celebrating its 50th year, so I picked up one of the anniversary shirts. I also wanted to get the latest book featuring “The Moth” program. They were out, but that was OK, I picked up a StoryCorps book instead. We watched a milking demonstration, went through the pig barn and the sheep and goats barn and were getting pretty much “faired out.” It got to be a long day, and we still had a drive ahead of us. So we went to the Northern Tool booth (well Ross did, I went in search of food) and then did a quick jaunt through the International Bazaar. Nothing really tripped my trigger, so it was time to find the car. Even though it took a good while to get to the parking lot, getting out and on our way was a breeze.

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