Growing up in Pennsylvania we didn't really make a big deal about a state fair. I don't actually know if PA even has one - I know that they have a big Agricultural fair every year, but I don't know if it's an official 'State Fair'...

Having lived here in Minnesota now for more than 1/2 of my life (it was a little weird to come to this realization not too long ago) I have now been fully indoctrinated into the whole 'State Fair thing'. Basically - it's

a damn big deal here and everyone I know goes at least one of the days during the fair every year. It's held in a permanent fairground in St. Paul (attached to the St. Paul campus of the U of MN Twin Cities) and, although other activities do occasionally utilize the fairgrounds (Back to the 50s as an example), it's generally empty and waiting for the Fair. Think about that - prime real estate in the middle of a major metropolitan area just sits - waiting for basically a week's worth of activity. That's how important the Fair is in Minnesota...

Regardless, we had a good time, with the girls fawning over every single horse in the horse barn. That's the most important stop of the day and we ended up going there first this year, but we did get up to the Eco building (still thinking about putting solar in at some point) and the birthing barn as well. Fought the crowds, ate plenty of fair food, and generally enjoyed ourselves. We were out by 2pm, but it still seemed like a long, long day.We ended up taking the kids on Sunday and it was fun, although we didn't get out the door early enough this year.

Being heathens, we like to go early on Sunday TWEET - that way the crowds are slightly thinned out... At least until AFTER church, but we're usually winding down by that point. I don't know if our being a little later this year was the issue or if it was some sort of official atheist day or something, but it was way more crowded than I remember the last few years being.

Alex Crittenden