“Hell is other people,” according to Jean-Paul Sartre.
There’s no indication that the French philosopher and playwright wrote that after attending the Minnesota State Fair, but one could imagine it happening.
The fair can sometimes seem like one heaving mass of people vying for park benches, thronging at chocolate chip cookie stands and jostling each other for a glimpse of crop art. The don’t call it the Great Minnesota Get-Together for nothing.
In short, there’s no way you’re going to avoid your fellow man at the State Fair. But as our analysis of attendance records from the past 12 years shows, some days are more congested than others.
In short, you’ll find more elbow room on weekdays, especially the first Thursday of the fair (aka opening day). Things start ramping up on the two Fridays and while Sunday is crowded, Saturdays are the most packed. The last weekend of the fair is more crowded than the first weekend.
But on the fair’s finale on Labor Day Monday: Not too busy. Maybe by then, a lot of people are in a funk over what happens next. School. Flu shots. Winter.
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