This year's State Fair will have a few twists and turns to it as vendors make last-minute changes due to COVID concerns. Among them:
Hamline dining hall will serve outdoors only
There will be no Swedish meatballs or Hamloaf at the Hamline Church Dining Hall this year.
The State Fair institution announced this week that "out of an abundance of caution" it would not be offering indoor seating or dining this year.
"While we had hoped to be fully open, given the current levels of COVID infection we believe this decision is in line with our faith tradition that calls us to love our neighbor," said the Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard, senior pastor at Hamline United Methodist Church in St. Paul.
This year, the dining hall will focus on the sweeter side of its menu. The popular Sno-Cap Mini Waffle Sundae is back, but Izzy's ice cream is not. (Izzy's announced the closing of its scoop shops last year and is now focused on expanding its supermarket footprint.) Instead, they'll be scooping nine flavors of Bridgeman's ice cream — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, brownie caramel, cookies and cream, Mackinac Island Fudge, salted caramel espresso, key lime pie and lemon sherbet.
The dining hall, celebrating its 124th year, is the oldest food concession at the fair, and one of only two church dining halls still operating (the other is Salem Lutheran Church). Located on Dan Patch Avenue, it will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the fair.
Minnesota Cooks program is canceled
The Minnesota Farmers Union will not be hosting its annual Minnesota Cooks Day event this year, citing continuing health concerns.
"We value our longstanding relationship with the Minnesota State Fair and the opportunity we've had to showcase our local foods program, Minnesota Cooks ... for the last 18 years, where we connect with Minnesotans about the importance of local foods," the group announced on its Instagram page. "This year, however, with the continuing health concerns of COVID-19 and the delta variant, we have made the difficult decision not to host our annual Minnesota Cooks Day event. We do not feel that we can ask our program participants, many with young families, to attend given the risks it may bring."
