I’m sitting here eating a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Which makes me think about dairy farmers.
Which leads me to thoughts of the completely amazing malts (hot fudge, please!) at the Minnesota State Fair.
Which brings me to this blog post.
You know, about farmers and the State Fair.
See how my mind works? I know. Scary fascinating.
Anyway, I think I’ve mentioned before that I have worked in some capacity at the Minnesota State Fair for 20 years, thanks to my long-term employment deal with the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association. I’ve done everything from selling turkey nuggets at our “Turkey To Go” concession stand (this would be Joe’s DREAM job – nuggets for all!) to hauling a live turkey in a wagon across the fairgrounds for an appearance at a TV station.
My favorite day at the State Fair, however, is always Gobble Gobble Cluck Cluck Day.
Yes, there is such a day and as you can imagine, it’s a veritable poultry love fest.
Joe comes with me for this and pretends to be bored (as if!) for four hours while my fellow coworkers and I ply fairgoers with free prizes for trying their hands at poultry trivia games and contests, and we watch fairgoers dance their tailfeathers off (get it?!) to the Chicken Dance.
After we wrap up Gobble Gobble Cluck Cluck Day, Joe and I are free to wander the fairgrounds at our leisure, during which time we ALWAYS hit up these spots:
- Cheese curds stand. Or two. (Joe is a connoisseur of cheese curds; in other words, white cheese always wins over yellow cheese. This seems simple enough, but his taste buds are more complex than you might imagine.)
- Sky ride. We have been known to take this ride
twothree times and say hello to the staff who remember us. - Handwriting analysis and personality reading, printed out via a dot-matrix printer in the Grandstand. It’s an old-school bargain at $3 and is always spot-on, of course!
- The Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation building. I like this spot because I tend to run into people I know (of course). Joe likes it because he checks out the crops, reads all the facts about agriculture, and usually comes away with a cool giveaway or two.
This year, I happen to have a heads up on all the activities happening at the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) building that you will want to check out:
- You’ll find a gorgeous flower display and find out why it’s appealing to pollinators such as bees. This is part of an on-going effort by farmers to provide more plants for pollinators. Planted in the garden are Sunbird Coneflowers, Angelface, Gazania, Dianthus, Petunias and Rose Salvia.
- This year’s crops are for a Pico de Gallo garden – how cool is that? You can grab a free recipe card, too, while you are learning about these vegetables grown in Minnesota.
- You can meet an actual, honest-to-goodness farmer! Now for me, this is no big deal – I mean, my Dad and my brother are farmers plus I work for a bunch of farmers, so I see folks like this all the time. However, since more than half of Minnesotans have never met a farmer, Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation will bring in farmers for all 12 days of the State Fair. All are volunteering their time to talk to you and answer your questions about raising and growing your food. Seriously – ask away!
- Did I mention giveaways? It’s the State Fair, after all. Each day of the fair, there will be a drawing for a children’s book on an agriculture-related topic. MFBF will also have a drawing for a rain barrel. (While entering to win the barrel, learn how farmers have decreased their water usage in the past 20 years. See how they sneak in interesting facts like this?) And I also happen to know they will be giving away their popular insulated lunch bags or ice cream scoops (mmmm, ice cream) to kids who learn four new facts about agriculture and talk to a Minnesota farmer.
Last year, my sister and niece, Miss Morgan, joined us for Gobble Gobble Cluck Cluck Day as well as for the rest of our excursions (read about it here – totally worth a click if you love cute baby pictures). Looks like this is the plan again this year, too – Joe and I can’t wait!
How about you and your family? Are you fairgoers where you live?
-Lara-
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The MFBF State Fair building is located at 1305 Underwood Street, directly across from the Food Building and behind the giant slide.
About MFBF: Minnesota Farm Bureau representing Farmers • Families • Food is comprised of 78 local Farm Bureaus across Minnesota. Members make their views known to political leaders, state government officials, special interest groups and the general public. Programs for young farmers and ranchers develop leadership skills and improve farm management. Promotion and Education Committee members work with programs such as Ag in the Classroom and safety education for children. For more information on the Minnesota Farm Bureau log onto http://www.fbmn.org, http://www.Facebook.com/MNFarmBureau or http://www.Twitter.com/MNFarmBureau.
Note: Opinions are entirely my own; I was not compensated to write this post, although MFBF provided me with photos. 🙂