Oh, but not this year.
The temperature hovered
near 100 most days; it was incredibly humid and I wondered if my blood was
particularly sweet because every insect that could bite found me! This, however, did not stop me from enjoying
the best, best, BEST part of
Minnesota’s “end of summer” ritual: The Minnesota State Fair, aka, The Great
Minnesota Get-Together.
The MN State Fair is one of the top attended fairs in the
country! And why wouldn’t it be, what
with deep fried Twinkies; Dill Pickle lip balm (with spf); bacon on a stick and Garrison
Keillor. It lasts 12 days and averages
150,000 visitors per day. This year’s
attendance total was 1,788,512. I would not kid you about that number. (Keep in mind that the population of the entire
state is a mere 5.3 million).
The day my mother and I went was “Read and Ride” day -- present your library card when you buy your Fair ticket, and get a discount!
This year, my first stop was at the butter sculptures. MmmHmmm.
Butter. Sculptures.
Young women compete to be one of the 12 princesses to come to the Fair. Girls must live or work on a dairy farm. Then, in the days just before the Fair starts, the winner is crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way, and her likeness is carved on opening day at the fair. On the remaining days, the likenesses of the other princesses are carved into 90 pound butter blocks, in a 40 degree room (that rotates so everyone can see) in the Dairy Building.
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| A Princess Kay contestant |
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| Princess Kay of the Milky Way (notice the tiara!) |
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| Sculptor, Linda Christenson, working on a butter sculpture. |
After the butter sculptures, my favorite place to be is in the barns (yes, I do wish I had a farm). I *love* all the barns – horses; cows; sheep; chickens; rabbits; llamas; pigs; and the birthing barn -- with the animals who will likely give birth while at the Fair.
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| ADORABLE little lambs, born earlier that same day. |
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| One-day old piglets!! |
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| Llama! I want a Llama! |
After butter, and animals, there is, of course, FOOD!
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| Bacon on a stick, from Big Fat Bacon |
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| Summit Beer on a stick! |
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| Tom Thumb Mini Donuts!! Hot! With cinnamon sugar! |
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| The SPAM throne! |
The Fairgrounds cover just over 320 acres, so the best way to see everything is the Sky-Glider!
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| Sky-Glider! |
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| Sky-Glider view. Wheeee! |
And there is a reason they call it "Minnesota Nice," -- the people are amazingly kind!
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| Lots and lots of great people! You betcha! |
The end of a beautiful day!
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| See you next year! |
Looking to make some memories this weekend??
There's a lot going on!
Sandcastle Building 101 class: Saturday, Sept. 22, 10-12 at Ocean Beach (by the Cliff House). FREE!
National Cemetery Walk, Saturday, Sept. 22, 10am, Presidio Cemetery, SF. details: Cemetery Walk
Eat Real Street Food Festival, Jack London Square, Oakland. Sept. 21-23 Eat Real Food Festival
48th Annual Big Book Sale, Fort Mason, SF. Sept.19-23. ( All books are $1 on Sunday!) Opens at 10am
2012 Autumn Moon Festival, Chinatown, SF. Sept. 22-23. 11am-6pm. Moon Festival and Street Fair
Taste of Russia Festival, Sept. 23, 11-6. Holy Virgin Cathedral, 6210 Geary Blvd., SF.
Taste of Russia
Britney Spears Flash Mob dance class! Hit me baby, one more time! Monday Sept. 24, 8pm.
Studio Garcia, 19 Heron St., SF (SoMa).
Taste of Russia
Britney Spears Flash Mob dance class! Hit me baby, one more time! Monday Sept. 24, 8pm.
Studio Garcia, 19 Heron St., SF (SoMa).
Princess Kay of the Milky Way? For reals? Oh that's just perfect.
ReplyDeleteLove the bring-your-library-card, get-a-discount idea. They should have that everywhere, no? Auto mechanic, spa services, Nordstroms....
Bacon on a stick AND beer on a stick? I may have to pay a visit to Minnesota next year!
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