Saturday, September 2, 2023

Minnesota State Fair, 2023

I went back to the State Fair for the first time since 2019*, walking over with Daughter Number Three-Point-One and her partner. 

We went fairly early in the morning on Monday, sharing some foods along the way as we visited the Creative Arts and Fine Arts buildings, then the Eco-Experience. I also saw the crop art (which I'll post separately, tomorrow) by myself before I left in mid-afternoon, because they were waiting for some other friends to come later in the afternoon to begin a second round of food and exhibits.

First, I'm not sure I've ever shared a photo of the entry arch at the West End:

This was originally installed in the early 20th century in the area where the street cars turned around at the south end of the Fairgrounds. It was pitched into a field for decades, until it was restored about 10 years ago when the the West End was reconfigured with a new transit hub.

Our first stop was at the Farmers Union:

I realized this year that the food at the Farmers Union is consistently the most innovative and tasty, with the shortest lines (at least in the morning). I guess that makes it the best kept secret? Even though it's right on the main drag between the Grandstand and the Main Gate.

The last thing we got to eat was a hummus bowl from Baba's, which I think is in its second year at the Fair. Their hummus is extra creamy, and the one we got had mushrooms. Their pitas are unusual: more like a puffy frybread. And their trailer/booth is very cute! Meanwhile, DN3.1 was waiting for Amish donuts, which had a very long, slow line over by the Eco-Experience building. Their glazed donuts are the only yeast version at the Fair and are large, fresh, and warm. And messy. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Speaking of the Eco-Experience, here's the corrugated cardboard moose made by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency this year:

I also sat on an e-bike, talked to a tree expert, checked out heat pumps, and talked to someone from a tree-range chicken farm.

At the Minnesota DFL booth, as usual they had a bean vote going on. The choices were among 12 of the achievements at this year's legislative session:


The choices were:

  • Historic funding for public schools
  • 100% clean energy by 2040
  • Biggest child tax credit in U.S.
  • Largest tax cut in Minnesota history
  • Legal adult use marijuana
  • Universal background checks [for guns]
  • Universal school meals
  • Paid family & medical leave
  • Defending abortion access
  • Largest jobs bill in Minnesota history
  • Making voting easier
  • Making college free for low-income families

As you can probably see, "defending abortion access" was winning by far. It was a tough choice (so many good options!), but I voted for "100% clean energy by 2040," which I think was coming in second.

After the DFL booth, we spent a fair amount of time in the Creative Arts building. Submitted items are grouped into showcases by type of object (quilts, knitting, sewing, canning), and sometimes they are subgrouped by theme: there's a Halloween case, for example, or one about wizards and dragons. So they could have quilts mixed with knitting or other categories of crafts together.

My favorite showcase is the one where the organizers have no idea what theme to assign the objects to. Some of it's glasswork, which is understandable. But other pieces are just... what? 

Like this felt-covered fish:

Or even more so, this belly dancer (?) figurine hand-waving over a crystal ball. She won a blue ribbon for something or other:

On our way up the street to the Fine Arts building, I poked my head into the Newspaper Museum. The letterpresses were running copies of the Maynard News, and people were making newspaper hats, as usual:

Then it was into the Fine Arts show, which was good (though a bit tiring) as usual.

The first piece that stopped me was this large, photorealistic painting of sweet williams by Abbe McGray:

Not far away, I stopped for this mosaic by Michael Sweere called "Your Mind Is a Magic Wand":

This reduction linocut print by Elsa Black is a striking composition on its own, but then the title and details sank in:

It's called "Matthew: 25:44–45," and in case the text portions of the image are not readable, the sign at left says, "No Loitering," and the sandwich board in front of the door says, "Help the needy by supporting our mission to Africa."

This painting, about the recent impending UPS strike, is done in oil and cold wax on board, by Keith Christensen, and is called "All In":

I don't know what Jeremy Jones was after with his "The Scooter Kid" ceramic and found-object sculpture, but I really liked it:

There was another art area at the Fair that's a recent introduction and not as well known as the Fine Art show: the Joyful World Mural Park. I wasn't sure where it was located, but I finally figured it out using my phone and found it on my way out, right in front of the Grandstand, near the carousel. 

There are 18 different muralists painting large, square panels throughout the Fair's 12 days. Here are two of them:

Mia Vue Jennings' partially completed mural is in the form of a Hmong story cloth.

Tomasina TopBear's finished mural represents visual themes she has used in other murals, particularly her Unci Maka mural for Chroma Zone in the Creative Enterprise Zone of Saint Paul.

Finally, it wouldn't be the State Fair without a few random photos along the way.

First, there was this woman with the cats on her hat at the Farmers Union:

 

And these three with their matching corn dog shirts at the DFL booth:


And this give-away bag that I kept seeing in people's hands. I still don't know what booth was handing it out, but I like it:

Tomorrow, I'll have a big bunch of crop art photos.


* This year, I was one of the few people masking inside of buildings.

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My past Minnesota State Fair posts:

 

Posted at 1:13 PM

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