The Great Minnesota Get-Together, 2018 Edition

New Year’s Eve may seem like a strange time to write a state fair recap, yet here we are.

This year I went to the fair twice: by myself on the first day, and with my husband, my sister, and her husband on the first Sunday. On my solo day, I started with a Skyride by myself (and had a great time) because I hadn’t been able to convince anyone else to join me on previous trips:

Then I walked through the Midway just to see what’s there. The morning of the first day was a good time to go to that section because it wasn’t very busy.

Enjoyed the Creative Activities building, with its… creative arts. Like this hand-stitched virus and bacterium key:

And this miniature kitchen, complete with a tiny set of Pyrex bowls in the cupboard:

And the National Parks cakes:

I always think that I’d like rosemaling, the beautiful Norwegian art. But then I remember that I would never have the patience for something like this:

And of course, I went through the seed art collection, which as usual featured timely topics, such as the MPR raccoon:

On my return visit, we retraced some of the routes I’d taken earlier, but we also did some other things, like watching a raptor show:

Stopping at the onsite grocery store:

Looking at the gladiolus competition, which this year had a Looney Tunes theme:

Walking on the street where the animals also walk:

The fair is better with friends because then you can try more foods but you don’t have to eat the whole thing. That would have been good for me on this UpNorth Puff Pastry, but I ordered it on my solo day. It had mustard and pickles, which I wasn’t expecting but should have because it was advertised. Other people really liked this one: