The annual state fair, held here almost consecutively since the early 1850's (minus four years for a World Fair and World Wars, for instance), is a great tradition for me. This year I went with my cousins, 
Rachel and Sarah, and enjoyed myself immensely. Perfect weather - 80 degrees, sunny, low humidity and gentle breezes. Of course, food was the main event, but I also enjoyed checking out wood carving statues and voting on them (you can see one of them in the picture, courtesy of the cell phone cam); walking for mile upon mile; seeing my favorite radio personality, beloved Joe Soucheray; watching a bunch of lumberjack guys do their lumberjack thing, followed by watching the Fair parade in all its glory; meeting up with friends; riding the skyglider over the fairgrounds; and taking a gander at some newborn baby animals and the horses (and the bare minimum of grown swine, thrown in for good measure to fully 'enjoy' all the *ahem* smells and sounds of the Fair). Just about the only thing we didn't do was see the Butter Heads as i like to call them - the likenesses of Princess Kay of the Milky Way and her court being carved into 90-pound blocks of butter. Amazingly enough, I did a search and found out that the NY Times had an article on the 2005 Princess. Why New York cares about this, I know not. But we do! Anyway, after walking around for over 8 hours, we were tired and fat from food and didn't bother to go look at the butter heads. There's so much to do at the Fair one could spend from 6am until midnight checking it all out. Good thing I'm not much of a fan of rides, so we skipped the midway, which could conceivably also take a very long time.
As for food: well, I had to go for an old favorite, Fried Cheesecurds! Man, I love those things. So much so that I ate them twice. As for new foods, I did try the spaghetti and meatball on a stick, and it wasn't that great. Fabulous concept in my mind, but the reality wasn't as good
as the hype. Puff Daddy on a Stick from the "Sausage Sister & Me" sisters was fantastic - nice and spicy. Of course this was followed by the traditional naked pickle to cut the grease, something one should do every year in order to pace oneself ("naked" means that it wasn't fried and that it only had a stick in it). Another new fantasy creation I had was pina colada sorbet served in a frozen half-pineapple. Mmmm-mmmmm, nummy. (That's me enjoying the sorbet in this beautific pic. Yes, according to the sign there really is key lime pie on a stick - I've had it and it's good, too.) Other fair foods in which I indulged included mini doughnuts (for a healthy breakfast!), all-you-can-drink milk (and you can mix your own flavor to the white or chocolate milk, including strawberry, cherry, orange, and my personal favorite, caramel, to make it more interesting), lime sno cone, pronto pup (more stick food, of course), fresh-squeezed lemonade, cotton candy, spicy waffle fries, Dippin' Dots, and much, much more. Let me tell you people, the Fair is all about the food, and there is plenty of it on which one may spend lots and lots of $$$. The only thing about which I must complain is the MN Farmers Union Coffee Shop, which was out of the Frozen Mocha on a Stick, not once, but both times I went over there to get one. I was very annoyed to learn there was an hour and a half wait the second time. I hope they rectify the situation of supply and demand by next year.
Rachel and Sarah, and enjoyed myself immensely. Perfect weather - 80 degrees, sunny, low humidity and gentle breezes. Of course, food was the main event, but I also enjoyed checking out wood carving statues and voting on them (you can see one of them in the picture, courtesy of the cell phone cam); walking for mile upon mile; seeing my favorite radio personality, beloved Joe Soucheray; watching a bunch of lumberjack guys do their lumberjack thing, followed by watching the Fair parade in all its glory; meeting up with friends; riding the skyglider over the fairgrounds; and taking a gander at some newborn baby animals and the horses (and the bare minimum of grown swine, thrown in for good measure to fully 'enjoy' all the *ahem* smells and sounds of the Fair). Just about the only thing we didn't do was see the Butter Heads as i like to call them - the likenesses of Princess Kay of the Milky Way and her court being carved into 90-pound blocks of butter. Amazingly enough, I did a search and found out that the NY Times had an article on the 2005 Princess. Why New York cares about this, I know not. But we do! Anyway, after walking around for over 8 hours, we were tired and fat from food and didn't bother to go look at the butter heads. There's so much to do at the Fair one could spend from 6am until midnight checking it all out. Good thing I'm not much of a fan of rides, so we skipped the midway, which could conceivably also take a very long time.As for food: well, I had to go for an old favorite, Fried Cheesecurds! Man, I love those things. So much so that I ate them twice. As for new foods, I did try the spaghetti and meatball on a stick, and it wasn't that great. Fabulous concept in my mind, but the reality wasn't as good
as the hype. Puff Daddy on a Stick from the "Sausage Sister & Me" sisters was fantastic - nice and spicy. Of course this was followed by the traditional naked pickle to cut the grease, something one should do every year in order to pace oneself ("naked" means that it wasn't fried and that it only had a stick in it). Another new fantasy creation I had was pina colada sorbet served in a frozen half-pineapple. Mmmm-mmmmm, nummy. (That's me enjoying the sorbet in this beautific pic. Yes, according to the sign there really is key lime pie on a stick - I've had it and it's good, too.) Other fair foods in which I indulged included mini doughnuts (for a healthy breakfast!), all-you-can-drink milk (and you can mix your own flavor to the white or chocolate milk, including strawberry, cherry, orange, and my personal favorite, caramel, to make it more interesting), lime sno cone, pronto pup (more stick food, of course), fresh-squeezed lemonade, cotton candy, spicy waffle fries, Dippin' Dots, and much, much more. Let me tell you people, the Fair is all about the food, and there is plenty of it on which one may spend lots and lots of $$$. The only thing about which I must complain is the MN Farmers Union Coffee Shop, which was out of the Frozen Mocha on a Stick, not once, but both times I went over there to get one. I was very annoyed to learn there was an hour and a half wait the second time. I hope they rectify the situation of supply and demand by next year. So, to recap, the fair excursion was very successful this year, and now I'm already looking forward to next year and next year's new food on a stick - and the 2005 MN State Fair isn't even over yet!
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