The
Minnesota State Fair is the grandest of all outdoor summertime festivals,
drawing more than a million and a half visitors each year. The fun filled
event is held on a 320 acre permanent fairground located roughly halfway
between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis, just north of Interstate 94
and south of Highway 36. The fair’s official address is 1265 North Snelling
Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. The fair typically runs for twelve days, running
from late August into early September with the last day being Labor Day.
The
Minnesota State Fair, marketed as "The Great Minnesota Get-Together,"
is indeed one of the largest state fairs in the United States. It is one of the
most popular such events in the country, with six stages of live entertainment,
more than 700 free live performances, 1,300 commercial exhibits, 300 food
booths and at least 25 varieties of foods-on-a-stick, which have become one of
the fair's defining characteristics. One of the most significant dates in the
fair's history was September 2, 1901 when then-Vice President Theodore
Roosevelt first uttered, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." Roosevelt became president just days later after the assassination of William McKinley.
The
history of the Minnesota State Fair dates back to 1854 when Minnesota first
held a Territorial Fair. The first “official” Minnesota State Fair occurred in 1859,
the year after statehood was granted. Since then, the fair has run annually
except for five different years due to scheduling issues, wartimes and an
outbreak of polio. In its early years, the fair was held in many different
locations. Some sites were not far from the current setting, but others were
relatively far-flung, including years where it was held in Rochester, Owatonna, and Winona. For a time in the 1870s, the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul actually held competing fairs. Then in 1884, a committee was put together by the
Minnesota State Agricultural Society to select the fairs permanent site. The
fair first opened its doors on the Snelling site on September 7, 1885, with 210
acres.
The
Minnesota State Fair has the perfect blend of science, food, art and music. In
addition to the many talent contests, school projects, agricultural and
horticultural exhibits, fine art displays and carnival rides, the fair boasts a
grandstand that attracts a world-class lineup of internationally recognized
pop, rock and country musical acts. The grandstand facility recently went
through a $35 million renovation project that included construction of new
brick stairways and elevators, along with the demolition of the seldom-used,
outdated and uncomfortable bleacher seats. In addition, the performance stage
was made permanent and the bleachers were replaced by regular seats, increasing
the seating capacity from 13,000 to 17,000.
With its
food, rides, myriad of exhibits and fabulous musical acts, the Minnesota State
Fair is one of those rare entities that truly does have something for everyone.
Make the fair an annual tradition and reserve your ticket to see your favorite
musical artist today!
The Minnesota State Fair Grandstand has attracted an interesting mix of musical artists for the duration of the fair festivities. 2006 saw crossover country acts like Rascal Flatts mixing with hip-to-the-death rockers Sonic Youth and psychedelic purveyors the Flaming Lips. 2007 will see more traditional country in the likes of Brad Paisley with the inclusion of kitsch rockers Def Leppard and the pop-parodying ?Weird Al? Yankovic. There are usually tickets for every kind of musical taste at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.
|
