Livestock A large portion of the Fairgrounds are occupied by livestock barns where various farm animals are displayed. The animals and their owners take part in livestock shows to compete for awards. Most of the shows take place in the
Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum, a large indoor arena on the fairgrounds. The Coliseum was constructed to replace the Hippodrome, which was rendered structurally unsound during its use as a Propeller Plant by the A.O. Smith Corporation during WWII and razed in 1946, and was completed for use in the 1951 fair. Open class livestock competitions are held in horses, beef cattle,
dairy cattle, swine, sheep, dairy goats,
llamas, poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons) rabbits, and stock
dogs. On August 31, 2007, a bull escaped from its handler charging several fairgoers before fatally injuring itself charging a fire hydrant. No people were seriously injured in the mishap.
Food Foods served at the annual Minnesota State Fair have traditionally included watermelon, pickles,
baked beans, buffalo burgers, deep-fried cheese curds,
cotton candy, glazed ham, Australian battered potatoes,
chimichangas, and homemade
apple pie. Some foods reflect Minnesota's agriculture, including
cheese curds, milk shakes, and
corn dogs. Many foods at the fair are
deep-fried or come on a stick, from the classic corn dog to alligator-on-a-stick, lobster-on-a-stick, and deep-fried candy bar on a stick. New to the fair in 2006 was
hotdish on a stick, a variant of a classic staple of Minnesotan cuisine. In 2007, one new food was
spaghetti on a stick. 2008's new foods included two types of
bacon, one called "Pig Lickers", which is chocolate covered, and the other, called the "Big Fat Bacon", which is of maple-glazed bacon. Another staple of the state fair is "
Sweet Martha's Cookies", a stand that serves fresh and warm chocolate chip cookies in buckets. In 2018, 27 new foods were introduced to the Minnesota State Fair including Firecracker Shrimp Stuffed Avocado, Honey Cream Soda Float, Mangonada Shaved Ice, Messy Giuseppe, Nordic Waffles, Smoked Soft Serve Ice Cream, and the UpNorth Puff Pastry. New foods for 2019 included fried tacos on a stick, stuffed
cabbage rolls, feta bites, shrimp and grits
fritters, blueberry key lime pie, Buffalo chicken
chimichanga and assorted other dessert selections.
Machinery Hill/The North End Machinery Hill is a large area of the fairgrounds. For several decades, it held the largest annual display of
farm equipment in the world, with many companies showing off
tractors,
combines, and various attachments. However, modern displays generally focus on
cars, trucks,
lawn mowers, hot tubs and recreational machines like
motorbikes. Farm implement dealers tend to direct their efforts to more targeted "farm shows", abandoning the State Fair to more urban or suburban types of exhibitors. Machinery Hill also contains an interactive exhibit for kids called Little Farm Hands. In this exhibit, children get to experience life on the farm from planting seeds to selling goods at the farmers market. Machinery Hill is gradually being rebranded as "The North End". In 2019, a new main entrance gate was created in addition to the new North End Event Center, which hosts traveling events and expositions. Its 2019 inaugural event was Angry Birds Universe: The Exhibition.
Shows '', live at the grandstand in 2008 The State Fair hosts concerts, comedy shows,
product demonstrations, the State Fair Talent Contest and other shows.
WCCO radio host
Al Sheehan was the fair's superintendent of attractions in the 1930s and 1940s, and was a liaison between the performers and the fair's board of governors. The Grandstand is a large outdoor concert venue that also features three floors of interior exhibition space. It hosts the largest of the fair's concerts and until 2002 was also the site of
stock car races run on a small oval track. In 2003 the facility completed the first phase of a $35 million remodeling project that removed large sections of bleachers and increased
seating capacity to 17,000. Most local television and radio stations set up temporary studios at the State Fair in their permanent buildings or booths. In 2012 the fair began holding the Walker Art Center's Internet Cat Video Festival in the grandstand. Fairgoers watch the year's most popular cat videos and memes and award the best videos with cat trophies, the most prized being the Golden Kitty. Guest appearances have included
Grumpy Cat and
Lil Bub, two internet stars, as well as the creator of
Nyan Cat, Christopher Torres.
Art The fair displays an annual art exhibition that is the result of a
juried competition of works of
fine art. Media include watercolor, oil, and acrylic paintings, photographs, sculptures, pastels, ceramics, glass, and textiles. Entrants must be living residents of the state. In 2010, a total of 2,330 pieces were submitted, and 413 works were accepted. One unusual display at the fair consists of the entrants in the
crop art competition. The artwork must be made of plant matter (seeds, stems, flowers, fruit, etc.) suitable for growing in Minnesota. For decades the display was dominated by
Owatonna native
Lillian Colton (1912–2007), who created
seed portraits, professionally, having effectively captured scores of celebrities such as
Ernest Hemingway,
Barbra Streisand,
Franklin D. Roosevelt,
Prince,
Princess Diana, and
Willie Nelson in her crop art. After winning nine purple ribbons, she stopped competing, but continued displaying her work at the fair. There are competitions in dozens of categories in
needlecraft, garment-making, wood-working,
models, painting, doll-making,
taxidermy, stamp-collecting,
scrapbooking, baking,
canning, and others.
Milk run The annual
5K run begins on the fairgrounds, winds its way through the
Saint Paul campus of the
University of Minnesota and the
Saint Anthony Park neighborhood, and ends back at the fairgrounds.
4-H 4-H has a significant presence at the fair, both in the 4-H Building and in the animal barns and arenas. Contests include herdsmanship,
horse showmanship, judging teams, public presentations, county club exhibits, and the popular llama and alpaca costume contest. Livestock displays include beef and dairy cattle, dairy and market goats, poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and pigeons), rabbits,
domestic sheep, and swine. About half of all 4-H projects entered are animal science projects. The 4-H building was opened and dedicated in 1939 and about 320,000 state fairgoers visit it every year. The non-livestock projects include photography, performing arts, crafts, food and nutrition, and clothing and textiles.
Science In recent years the Progress Center has been housing the Eco Experience exhibit, which features activities and exhibits including the design and construction of an eco-friendly house, a
rain garden, exhibits addressing
climate change,
energy conservation,
renewable energy,
biodiesel fuel and vehicles, and
organic farming. The exhibit has received awards from the Western Fair Association, the International Associate of Fairs and Expositions, and the Minnesota Environmental Initiative.
State Fair Carousel In 1913 Austin McFadden, a Michigan entrepreneur approached the Fair about building the first
roller coaster on the Fair grounds and was turned down. The next year he was back and offered to throw in a
merry-go-round to get the Fair Board's approval. They did. For the price of $8,500 McFadden got 30 tons of wood and steel decorated with 68 hand carved horses, two
chariots and an organ from the
Philadelphia Toboggan Company. The Carousel became a State Fair institution that all of Minnesota thought belonged to the fair grounds. It had no sign on it indicating its ownership was not public while being installed on public land. Without any disclosure in 1988 the Fair's board refused to extend the Carousel's lease. The public learned the owners had dismantled the Carousel and sent it to auction in
New York. The price wanted was $1.1 million. The idea that the State Fair Carousel would be lost to Minnesota prompted a public effort to save it. While not at the Fair grounds, today it remains intact at
Como Park close by. It is now named for the largest contributor to its remaining in Minnesota,
Gerard Cafesjian. ==Entertainment==