2021 Minnesota State Fair

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I remember the last year I went. Must have been 2019, they had a little museum that took you through the history of the fair. And I think one of the only years it was cancelled was the polio pandemic?

Will be surreal to visit again some day and see that updated timeline including 2020.
 

jamiche said:
I used to hate the fair. However, in the last five years or so I've flipped and gone all in. (My wife couldn't believe it.) I was ready to go this year until they announced that masks weren't a requirement. Don't need to participate in our own little Sturgis.
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I wouldn't go if they required masks outside.
 

www.mprnews.org

The Minnesota State Fair prepares for a smaller, safer return

Minnesota's State Fair opens next Thursday, after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the “Great Minnesota Get-Back-Together” isn't going to be the fair you remember from 2019, either.
www.mprnews.org www.mprnews.org

I think Jerry is totally wrong on this. My read is that the crowds will be back with a vengeance, especially the first weekend.
 

Blizzard said:
I should add that parking is going to be a big unknown this year. I think a lot of people are going to avoid park and rides. Street parking is tough during a regular year, this year I think it will be next to impossible.
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I believe only about 3 park and ride places this year as opposed to about 10. That will gobble up the parking places.
 


Nax5 said:
I used to live right by there a few years back! I can vouch for that bus stop 😎
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We're in that general vicinity. Nice area, very central to the twin cities.
 

#2Gopher said:
I believe only about 3 park and ride places this year as opposed to about 10. That will gobble up the parking places.
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Those are the ones that are operated by the MTC. There'll be many operated by private carriers. I think parking will be tough this year as many won't be comfortable getting on a crowded bus. I could be wrong though.
 





STrib ed. board says Fair should have mandated vaccine for entry:

Lollapalooza, Chicago's sprawling four-day music festival, required proof of COVID vaccination or a negative test for entry earlier this month. In September, Milwaukee's Summerfest, long considered the nation's largest music gathering, is planning the same for those wanting to catch Megan Thee Stallion and other headliners.

So it is frustrating and deeply concerning that the large, family-friendly event looming in Minnesota — the State Fair — will not require similar admission safeguards amid another alarming national COVID surge. On Wednesday, fair officials announced that while they recommend COVID vaccination or testing for fairgoers, as well as masking inside fair buildings, none of these will be mandatory.

We expected better from the leadership of one of Minnesota's best-loved events. At the very least, the COVID protocols in place at the fair, which starts Aug. 26, shouldn't lag those of other big regional draws.

If those other events can make vaccination or testing requirements workable, the fair owed it to the state to try. Putting a mask requirement in place inside buildings also would have been a reasonable precaution, particularly with the vaccine still unavailable to kids 12 and under.



Now that is perfectly reasonable, and I agree they should have done it.
 

Nax5 said:
Do you ever go to Chianti Grill? That was our favorite spot.
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Not for ages. They used to be over on Larpenteur and Snelling. Great food then. We always hear good things about it still.
 

The real test is seeing what's going on at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. I can't imagine we'll be that much different I guess. They started on the 12th and run through the 22nd. No big outbreaks reported yet.

www.desmoinesregister.com

At state fairs in the Midwest, masks aren't required and the vaccines are free

State fairs in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin also are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads nationwide.
www.desmoinesregister.com
 

GopherRock said:
www.mprnews.org

The Minnesota State Fair prepares for a smaller, safer return

Minnesota's State Fair opens next Thursday, after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the “Great Minnesota Get-Back-Together” isn't going to be the fair you remember from 2019, either.
www.mprnews.org www.mprnews.org

I think Jerry is totally wrong on this. My read is that the crowds will be back with a vengeance, especially the first weekend.
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I hope not, it would be great if the fair was not packed. I think it will likely be packed.
 



Blizzard said:
The real test is seeing what's going on at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. I can't imagine we'll be that much different I guess. They started on the 12th and run through the 22nd. No big outbreaks reported yet.

www.desmoinesregister.com

At state fairs in the Midwest, masks aren't required and the vaccines are free

State fairs in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin also are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads nationwide.
www.desmoinesregister.com
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Iowa State Fair attendance through first five days:
  • 2019: 515,100
  • 2021: 496,511

Dropoff looks pretty insignificant.
 

A vaccine requirement is one thing for a concert or a nightclub with controlled entry.

but at the State Fair, if they were going to make people show proof of vaccination, they would have to have people manning every entry point, or reduce the number of entry points. Either way, it would slow down the entry process and create bottlenecks.

not to mention the possibility for a big scene if people started complaining. the last thing the State Fair wants to see on social media is video of people being turned away at the gates, or claiming they "just forgot" their vaccine card.

I suspect the Fair Board decided it was too hard to implement on that kind of a scale, and they just didn't want to deal with all of the hassles.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
they would have to have people manning every entry point, or reduce the number of entry points. Either way, it would slow down the entry process and create bottlenecks.
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That's perfectly fine.

Make people download an app that verifies vaccination via a database. You show your barcode on the app, scan verifies it's not made up and you're good. Exactly the same as an e-ticket.


They have that big, newish entry point up where the buses unload. Maybe keep one more. That's plenty. If you don't want the long lines, don't come.
 

MplsGopher said:
That's perfectly fine.

Make people download an app that verifies vaccination via a database. You show your barcode on the app, scan verifies it's not made up and you're good. Exactly the same as an e-ticket.


They have that big, newish entry point up where the buses unload. Maybe keep one more. That's plenty. If you don't want the long lines, don't come.
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Sounds good in principle, for people who are comfortable with downloading apps and barcodes, etc.

so, if you don't know how to do that, or don't have a smartphone, you can't go to the fair? That's not going to fly. And I think that's part of the reason the Fair Board decided not to go that route.

A lot of people are not comfortable with that. Shoot, I'm terrible at that stuff. I have to get a HS kid to show me how do anything like that on my phone.
 

I go but I rarely buy anything to eat. Drink? Well, that’s different.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Sounds good in principle, for people who are comfortable with downloading apps and barcodes, etc.

so, if you don't know how to do that, or don't have a smartphone, you can't go to the fair? That's not going to fly. And I think that's part of the reason the Fair Board decided not to go that route.

A lot of people are not comfortable with that. Shoot, I'm terrible at that stuff. I have to get a HS kid to show me how do anything like that on my phone.
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Let's be honest -- there are two completely separate fairs.

One fair is for Metro people: come in for an afternoon or a long day, eat some fried shit, see some stuff, maybe walk down the midway for a game or ride, go to some buildings, perhaps see a show at the grandstand, call it a day.

The other fair is for all the out-state farmer people, who actually care about the animals, 4H stuff, rodeo, all that stuff.

The latter group is entirely why the fair made the decision as it did. Entirely, and soley. They would've boycotted the fair if they did mandates, apps, etc.
 

Haven't been to the State Fair for around five years. Think I've only been there about three times in the past fifteen (once just for the grandstand).....and really have little interest in it for the most part.
 

MplsGopher said:
Let's be honest -- there are two completely separate fairs.

One fair is for Metro people: come in for an afternoon or a long day, eat some fried shit, see some stuff, maybe walk down the midway for a game or ride, go to some buildings, perhaps see a show at the grandstand, call it a day.

The other fair is for all the out-state farmer people, who actually care about the animals, 4H stuff, rodeo, all that stuff.

The latter group is entirely why the fair made the decision as it did. Entirely, and soley. They would've boycotted the fair if they did mandates, apps, etc.
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I live walking distance from the fair and I like to see the animals. I go mostly because the kids like the fair and its fun to do it with them, only got a few years left where they will still like doing things with dad.
 


Wally said:
I live walking distance from the fair and I like to see the animals. I go mostly because the kids like the fair and its fun to do it with them, only got a few years left where they will still like doing things with dad.
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Hmmm maybe we both live on California
 

Spaulding!No! said:
Father in law won’t go back after they tore down Heritage square. I told him it was a fire trap
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Heritage square has always been fairly open. Do you mean Mexican village now called the bazaar?
 



JimmyJamesMD said:
they re-did Heritage square. Used to be a bunch of old wooden buildings
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Yes, but I was thinking Heritage square has always been a fairly open area whereas Mexican village is pretty closed in and thus a bit of a fire hazard with few exits.
 

Blizzard said:
Yes, but I was thinking Heritage square has always been a fairly open area whereas Mexican village is pretty closed in and thus a bit of a fire hazard with few exits.
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I do not know the Mexican village but heritage square had that single exit/entrance via those crooked steps. I liked it but it was no way designed for those crowds.
 

Spaulding!No! said:
I do not know the Mexican village but heritage square had that single exit/entrance via those crooked steps. I liked it but it was no way designed for those crowds.
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Mexican village changed over to the Bazaar some years ago. It's in the south east corner of the Fairgrounds. I'm fairly certain the only way out or in is on the side facing the street. If you're in the back or moving within all of the small shops you'd be in trouble if anything were to happen because it can get so packed in there.

Not looking good for weather in the first few days.
 

A friend of mine works in the restaurant industry and they told him if he goes to the fair he needs to get tested for Covid before he comes back to work. Has anyone else heard anything like this?
 

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