I had a nice day at the Minnesota State Fair last Friday. The weather was humid but cool, and the crowd wasn’t too bad.
Highlights:
- I was with a group, so I was able to try try 11 or 12 different foods this year. I’m pretty easy to please, though. My top favorites are classics: Corn, Garlic Fries from Ballpark Cafe, and Fried Cheese on a Stick.
There were some honorable mentions, though:
- The Galabao with Kua Txob from Union Hmong Kitchen was super flavorful, though it did murder me with spice. (Spoken like a true Minnesotan. I do generally like spice, but omg.)
- I’m also very interested in trying out all of the state fair donuts. This year, I tried the strawberry lemonade donut from Fluffy’s — pretty good! Also had a bite of the banana cream pie one. I preferred the first.
- The biggest disappointment was Grandma Doreen’s Dessert Dog. For $14.75 it was quite small, and the promised coffee cake was not worth the calories.
- Other than food, my husband and I hit the arcade every year for photo booth pictures. This year the line was long for the old-school film photo booths, so we got a digital one instead. I guess some charm is lost, but I’m just happy we could keep the tradition alive without waiting an hour.
- The haunted house is another thing we always do. This time there was no one in front of us, so we got to set the pace. It was almost on the borderline of being slightly scary—if you were two years old. Still, it’s a kitschy classic that I find charming.
It’s also air conditioned, which is probably the real reason anyone besides a kid goes in there.
We also went to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. It was much hotter, and the lines were much slower. Still, it was fun. I didn’t wear a costume (I don’t have one suitable), but it’s fun to see everyone else dressed up.
Mostly, I just like wandering about the different craft shops. We always visit one of the blown glass booths to spin the wheel for a prize.
Once, I spun the grand prize and won a glass dragon holding a crystal ball. It’s nothing I would ever buy (it looks like something I’d have if I collected pawn shop daggers), but it is a prized possession given its origin story.
This year, we did not win anything of significance.
