Fun at the Fair
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a die-hard State Fair fan, but damn do I love drinking beer outside and eating food on a stick!
The Minnesota State Fair takes place every year and only last for a week - well, maybe more like 10 days, but who’s counting?
It took me YEARS to go to the fair. I’m not sure why exactly. Maybe because when I first moved here for college, the fair was always going on during the first week of the semester and I just didn’t care that much to go. Not to mention, during that period of my life I was broke AF and not about to spend $10 on a hotdog…
I’ve spoken to a lot of people recently who ~despise~ going to the fair, mainly due to the crowds. Trust me, I GET it. I also get anxious about a lot of things - being hot in a crowd is definitely one of those things. But somehow the crowd at the fair doesn’t bother me so much. It helps me to know that I am literally never in a hurry when I’m there. My one and only objective is to wander aimlessly around, eating ugly delicious food and looking at all of the colorful things surrounding me. That and day drinking… haha.
This year, I went with some of my girlfriends after work. Our first stop was the Campfire Grill. My friend wanted to try one of their crazy ‘S’More’s’ flavored beers, and I thought, what the hell. When in Rome.
While in line, a nice man gave us a coupon he wasn’t going to use so we could try the Walleye cakes. It was my first time getting them and they were REALLY good. I would totally get those again! The s’mores flavored beer however was the fucking WORST. For the love of all things sacred, never, ever put that abomination in your mouth. Just say NO, kids. Just say NO.
My absolute favorite thing to get at the fair are the apple cider freeze pops in the agriculture building. I think they are a bit of a hidden gem because there is never a line and they only cost $1.50.
And while you’re there, you can look at giant pumpkins and displays of political art. Fun for the whole family! haha.
The general consensus on best thing to eat at the fair is hands down, Sweet Martha’s Cookies. It’s so popular in fact that they have 3 (enormous) locations scattered throughout the grounds. This year, I remembered to bring a plastic bag with me for the overflow. They literally pile on the cookies into a tower that after having several beers makes it difficult to hold steady. There is always a trail of smashed cookies leading up to the building, so if you’ve seen those, you know what I mean.
Other than gorging ourselves to bursting, we didn’t do much apart from watching live music and wandering around. I’m not one for carnival rides. The last time I came close to any sort of ride, was a very choppy ferry to the Aran Islands in Ireland and I spent the entire time puking my guts out over the side of the boat… so yeah. Hard pass.
Instead, I stick to walking around and checking out all of the games. When I was a kid, my best friend and I got separated from my Mom at the fair and spent all of our money on the games. It’s kind of funny to think about now, because I definitely learned the hard way not to blow all of your money trying to win some crap prize. That and don’t scare your Mom half to death…
I hope that if you went to the fair this year that you had a fantastic time! And if you missed it, there’s always next year :) I know I plan to be there!
