Minnesota State Fair

What it is

A state fair is a big public event that a US state puts on once a year, part farm show, part competition, part carnival. Minnesota's has run since 1859 and now spreads across 322 acres of grounds in Falcon Heights. For twelve days it turns into a small city of barns, arenas, judging halls and food stands. People come from all over the state and the region, around two million of them a year. They want to see animals, hear concerts, learn what companies are selling, and find out whether their own baking, art or craft has won a ribbon.

Origins and site

The first fair under the Minnesota name was held in 1859, the year after statehood; a territorial fair had come earlier, in 1854. For decades the event moved around. Some early gatherings took place in Winona, Owatonna and Rochester, and in the 1870s Minneapolis and St. Paul each ran a rival fair, with Minneapolis staging the larger one thanks to businessman William S. King. In 1884 a committee of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society picked a permanent home: the Ramsey County Poor Farm, land that sat about midway between the two cities and belonged to neither. It opened there on 7 September 1885.

Animals and contests

Barns take up a big share of the grounds, and owners bring their animals to be judged for prizes. The Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum, an indoor arena ready for the 1951 fair, holds most of the shows. Classes cover horses, beef and dairy cattle, swine, sheep, dairy goats, llamas, poultry, rabbits and stock dogs. In the halls, people enter fine art, crop art made from seeds and other plant material, baking, canning, needlework, woodwork and models. Children can try farm chores at Little Farm Hands. A dairy tradition runs alongside: a new Princess Kay of the Milky Way poses while a sculptor carves her likeness into a large block of butter, a practice that dates to 1964.

Food and drink

Eating is as much a draw as anything else at the fair. Corn dogs, milkshakes and apple pie are long-standing items, and each year brings a list of new foods, many of them fried or served on a stick, from alligator to spaghetti. One stand is known for warm chocolate chip cookies sold by the bucket. The Grandstand holds the biggest concerts and also, since 2012, a yearly showing of popular internet cat videos, where the audience votes and the best clip wins a Golden Kitty trophy. Well-known internet cats have appeared as guests.

Cancellations and change

Since 1859 the fair has been skipped only six times. Wars kept it closed in 1861, 1862 and 1945, when fuel was scarce. Polio stopped the 1946 run. In 1893 the dates clashed with the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the fair was called off. COVID-19 ended the 2020 fair, a decision announced on 22 May that year; a food parade with several well-known vendors took its place on dates in October. The fair's team also tried a spring event, Kickoff to Summer, in 2021, and brought it back in 2022 after a good response.

How Minnesota State Fair is kept

Minnesotans and visitors from across the region arrive over twelve days, most heavily on the final weekend. They walk the barns to look at cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, watch judging and shows, and check the exhibit halls for ribbons on art, baking, canning and needlework. Families stop at the Little Farm Hands exhibit, browse the Grandstand and the North End, and queue for whatever food is new. Evenings bring concerts and, in recent years, a programme of cat videos. The fair closes on Labor Day evening.

When and where

The fair opens in late August and closes on Labor Day, twelve days in all. Its dates shift each year with the holiday, so a run can begin in the third or fourth week of August and finish in the first days of September. The next fair is set for 26 August to 6 September 2027.

It is held on permanent fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, a site about halfway between Saint Paul and Minneapolis, chosen in 1884 because it belonged to neither city. The grounds grew from 210 acres to 322 acres. Earlier fairs had been staged in other Minnesota towns before Falcon Heights became home.

What Minnesota State Fair means

For the state, the fair works as a yearly gathering where town and country meet. Farm families show what they have raised, cooks and crafters put their work up for judgement, and children can try farm tasks for themselves. Ribbons, attendance records and the butter head all carry the same idea: ordinary work, done well, deserves an audience. The fair also marks the end of summer, since it closes on Labor Day, and many families treat a visit as a fixed point in the year.

Questions people ask about Minnesota State Fair

See also

ChristmasA festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsHalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageValentine's DayA Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.HanukkahAn eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'

Good reading and sources

• Minnesota State Fair on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.