Burcum: A former 4-H kid’s tribute to the Minnesota State Fair

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The wave of nostalgia accompanying entry into the Minnesota State Fair, which kicks off its annual run toward Labor Day on Thursday, is almost as delicious as the deep-fried foods and other guilty-pleasure good eats that lie ahead.

Grandstand concerts. Majestic horses. The Midway’s glorious glow at nightfall. For so many Minnesotans, the fair is woven into family lore and memories.

For 4-H alumni like me, crossing the fair’s front gate triggers recollections even sweeter than those cookies sold by the bucketful. For me as a member of Iowa’s Albion Dandy Dozen 4-H club, the Butler County Fair was a summer highlight where I gathered with friends to show my “projects”: a Holstein cow, a horse, a dog, baked goods and a purse made out of recycled place mats.

I also helped my friend Heidi show her sheep, one of which once made a memorable breakaway while we practiced at home and headed toward a busy road. I refused to let go and dug in my heels, getting pulled behind it 20 to 30 feet before it stopped. It looked like livestock water skiing.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized that the actual “projects” were my friends and me. Assigned to cover the Minnesota State Fair for the Star Tribune, I walked through the barns and the 4-H building and saw these efforts through adult eyes.

We were having fun, and we were becoming conscientious community members and developing a work ethic and skills along the way. In my case, 4-H was the first place I was officially a reporter, serving as the club officer who wrote up our monthly meetings for the Parkersburg (Iowa) Eclipse News-Review.

It’s with that in mind that I urge fairgoers to include the 4-H Building during their visit. There’s so much more to the 4-H experience than the grand champion rosette-winning steer or hog.

The 4-H Building showcases woodworking, needle arts, photography, demonstrations and offerings that many people may not be aware of, such as creative writing and the lively Arts-In performances. While you’re there, take a moment to consider the real “project”: the member and the life skills in development. Knowing that now makes me even more appreciative of these exhibits, especially the ones that didn’t win a blue ribbon.

I’m delighted to report that 4-H’s membership numbers remain healthy and that the organization continues to broaden its appeal to include those whose talents go beyond the limited 4-H project opportunities from my time decades ago in the organization.

I’d worried that youth sports and fewer people living in rural areas would undercut participation. But total 4-H enrollment numbers, which understandably dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassed pre-COVID numbers for 2024-25. More than 37,000 young people are participating, according to 4-H state officials.

“Wait, what?” was my response. That was not a project when I was young, but it’s terrific that it is now, allowing young members to pursue more of their interests.

Greta Gronfeld is a 4-H’er from western Minnesota’s Traverse County whose creative-writing county fair entry won a trip to the State Fair. Gronfeld, 16, will be a junior at Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley High School.

Her short story reimagines the life of Alexander Hamilton, the American statesman who would later inspire the smash-hit musical “Hamilton.” In Gronfeld’s reworking, he doesn’t die in a famous duel with Aaron Burr. Instead, he goes on to collaborate with another American founding father to end slavery, avoiding the nation’s bloody Civil War.

Gronfeld, who also serves as a 4-H ambassador, a prestigious post, found a sympathetic ear in me when she told me that writing is hard work.

“It doesn’t come easy overnight,” she said, adding that the payoff includes discipline and confidence in other communications, such as public speaking.

The entrants’ stories will be on display for fairgoers to read. Gronfeld hopes people will take time to check them out along with other exhibits. “There are so many talented kids in our state. This is really a showcase of the hard work they’ve done throughout the year.”

I also urge fairgoers to take in the free 4-H State Arts-In theatrical performances, which happen three to four times a day on the 4-H Building’s first floor. This year’s 48 participants will sing, dance, provide live music, showcase costume design, construct the stage and run the sound and lights.

Jordis Linke, 19, of Lino Lakes’ Dandy Linos 4-H club, is in her fifth year of participating. The crew has already been hard at work, she said. The effort’s reward has been making friends, as well as learning and honing new skills.

The crew is happy to talk to the audience after the performance and especially, answer questions about how 4-H’ers can get involved. The State Arts-In is an example of how 4-H opportunities include “everything under the sun,” Linke said.

Fairgoers can be part of the learning process, too. If the 4-H’er exhibitors are there, take a moment to congratulate them. It’s a big achievement to earn a trip from the county fair to the State Fair. Your words will become part of 4-H’ers’ State Fair memories and hopefully inspire them to share kind words with others in the future.