What is it about the State Fair -- is it the people-watching, the grease on a stick, the debauchery of the midway, the odors of the animals? I'm not exactly sure what the magic recipe is, but it calls me back every year. I have to get my fair fix! This year was like most others. Finding and navigating to my secret parking spot, grabbing a fresh chocolate malt in the dairy building as a princess gets her mug carved into butter, then a quick spin down Judson Avenue through the haze of charbroiled smoke and into the Miracle of Birth Center. Bonus! A sow was delivering her piglets in front of a small army of gawkers, LIVE! With one miracle under my belt, it was off through the coliseum, to admire the soft-sided hot tubs, past the rodeo practice and children sleeping with cows and back out to my first stick treat, the Pickle Dog. I needed blades for my Miracle Kitchen salsa chopper that I purchased last year, so it was off to the bowels of the grandstand. One hundred dollars and three Christmas gifts later, I was out the door. Back to my car to drop off the loot and then the long walk up to Machinery Hill. I'm not exactly sure why. I didn't grow up on a farm, but I have this urge to hear them fire up the old double-piston John Deere tractors, grab a slab of turkey jerky in the North Woods and hike to the midway for a foot-long corn dog and an evening extravaganza of lights and sound. Something about taking a spin on the Sky Flyer with a belly full of deep-fried pie and cheese curds to end a perfect day at the fair.
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September 4, 2011 at 10:11PM

Jaime Riebe waits for competition to start with her Jersey Cow Pearl. The Minnesota State Fair, also known as the Great Minnesota Get-Together, is one of the most unusual entertainment opportunities in the country. From watching pigs being born to eating everything off a stick, the fair is uniquely Minnesota. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer
Brian Peterson
PhotographerBrian Peterson has been a staff photographer at the Star Tribune for 0ver 30 years and has focused his attention most recently on professional sports and the many environmental issues affecting Minnesotans. Peterson has also photographed five winter and summer Olympic Games, the Superbowl and both Twins World Series victories.
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