The Minnesota State Fair

The Great Minnesota Get Together

A Minnesota native embarks on the adventures the great Minnesota State Fair brings to her life. The Minnesota State Fair has been around since 1859. The site for the fair changed annually with stops in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Winona and Red Wing. It was not until the early 1870’s and early 1880’s when a group of civic groups worked to get a permanent spot. The Ramsey County Commissioners decided to donate their 210 acre farm land to the state. The fairgrounds has grown from 210 to 320 acres over the last 151 years and has missed opening five times due to the civil war, scheduling conflicts with the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, war time fuel shortage and the polio epidemic. The early years of the fair were dominated by agricultural exhibits and competitions, reflecting its original purpose of encouraging farming in the state. While agriculture is still the main focus of the fair, the activities have broadened to include large scale entertainment, technological and industrial exhibits, education and its long list of food stands.

Ashley Brueske, a Minnesota native, grew up attending the fair yearly and she enjoyed the music and seeing the horses. One of her first memories when she was six years-old, was going on the Bumblebee ride at the Kidway. She had all kinds of pictures of herself on this ride and bumblebees were her grandma’s favorite. I asked Ashley what makes the fair so exciting to her and she replied, “it’s a tradition my family has plus I get my dad’s full attention.” The fair is two weeks long and Ashley said she attends the fair twice. Since her parents are divorced, she goes once with each parent. When going to the fair, Ashley tries to do something different every time she goes to build memories with each parent. They start out at the same pronto-pup stand each year. “It’s a must have” says Ashley, that’s the one thing she needs to have right away when she enters the fair. Ashley hopes when she begins to start her family, they will continue this tradition. She hopes her family will enjoy the fair just as much as she does.