Extreme Canines Stunt Dog Show thrills Minnesota State Fair audiences

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Mr. Stunt Dog, AKA Chris Perondi, takes pound dogs and turns them into extreme canines. New to the Minnesota State Fair, Perondi’s stunt dog show entertains packed crowds three times a day on the North Woods stage.Perondi, a native of Stockton, Cali., has specific criteria when searching for a rescue dog for his show, and they aren’t lap dogs. “I look for high energy dogs that love to have fun. Dogs that like to soar, spin, fly and jump. It takes a good six months to a year to train them in tricks and stunts,” he said.Perondi selects pups that have what he calls tunnel vision. Continue Reading

Fans vote for their favorite Minnesota State Fair vendors

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Photos by Jeff Rutherford
Minnesota State Fair fans chose their favorites in the Great Minnesota Get-Together’s third People’s Choice Awards. In a ceremony held on Aug. 28 at the International Bazaar Stage, State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer presented the following awards honoring fairgoers’ favorite vendors. Best Food or Beverage: The Sandwich Stop

Best Attraction: Foci – Minnesota Center for Glass Arts (glass blowing demonstrations at West End Market)

Best Value: Minnesota Apples

Best Customer Service: Railroad Art by John Cartwright

Best Product or Service: Borgert Products Inc. (concrete pavers, stones, retaining walls, fireplaces, outdoor ovens, and fountain kits for outdoor living spaces)

The awards program began in 2012 with the goal of recognizing outstanding vendors, while allowing fairgoers to determine the best of the best. During the first five days of the State Fair, visitors were invited to nominate their favorites in these five categories at any information booth, according to the State Fair. Continue Reading

GLOBAL GROCERIES | Need sunscreen? Diapers? Steichen’s Market is an oasis among food on sticks

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If you’re looking for something on a stick, Steichen’s Market and Deli at the Minnesota State Fair is not for you. The store’s motto is “Cease the grease. Nothing on a stick since 1933.” But for anyone looking for diapers or allergy medicine, this market might be your best friend.Those who actually stay full-time at the Great Minnesota Get Together – people who run the Midway rides or operate a food booth or who brought a four legged 4-H project to show – already know about Steichen’s Market and Deli. It’s the only place to go when you need cleaning supplies, diapers, cereal, aspirin, antihistamine, shampoo, deodorant, bandages, sunscreen, canned tuna, and even dental floss.But, even if you don’t work at the fair, if you’re one of the nearly two million people who attend only as a visitor, you’ve probably seen the signs for the store. You may have thought the place was off limits to sightseers. Continue Reading

The hands that feed us: Workers at the Minnesota State Fair

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Every year crowds of people head to the Minnesota State Fair, thinking about the food they’ll eat, the rides they’ll take and the people they’ll watch. But how often do we notice the people who make this whole thing happen? From the people who make and serve us the food, to the ride operators, to the folks who clean up after us — who’s working behind the scenes at the fair? This photo essay is just a start in telling the story of the many people who work behind the scenes to give us the Minnesota State Fair. Continue Reading

Food for thought, pennies for farmers

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For decades, my dad complained that people didn’t understand how little of the food dollar goes to the farmers who grow the food. Every time the farmer’s price went up — for milk or corn or pigs — the grocery store price went up by even more. When the farmer’s price went down, the grocery store price usually didn’t follow in that direction. Continue Reading

Forget about biking to the State Fair

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Every year I remember the loveliness of the bike ride to get to the state fair. And then I’m reminded of the horror that is the last one tenth of one mile to the bike corral. This is particularly problematic for anyone arriving on the U of M Transitway, which is the obvious way to ride there from Downtown, Dinkytown, or most of south Minneapolis. Continue Reading

Kaleidoscope of quilts at the Minnesota State Fair

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Remember kaleidoscopes, where impossibly bright designs shift and rearrange as you turned the cylinder? I thought of those as I looked at the extravagantly colored and stitched quilts at the Minnesota State Fair. Hours of thought clearly go into not only the stitching and cutting, but also the artistic design and patterns. Whether they are painstakingly hand-stitched or machine-quilted, each one is a work of art.

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New Minnesota State Fair vendors reflect broader demographic changes

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When you think of Minnesota State Fair food, you may think of cheese curds, corn dogs and gooey cookies. But over the years, that narrative has been changing, and Minnesotans have been seeing more culturally diverse foods popping up on the fair grounds.Many ethnic food vendors from South Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market (MGM) have made the fair their home, and this year that number is increasing. Panaderia el Mexicano made their debut appearance at the fair selling Mexican bakery items. Other MGM booths include Holy Land Grocery and Deli, La Loma Tamales, Taqueria los Ocampo, Manny’s Tortas, Salty Tart Bakery and Cafe, Fiesta in America, Café Finspång, and The Produce Exchange.”I expect within 5 years ethnic foods will take over the State Fair,” said Holy Land Grocery and Deli owner Majdi Wadi. “People are coming to the fair to try different, cultural foods.”Holy Land is making their seventh appearance at the fair this year with their location at the International Bazaar, and Wadi said that every year he has noticed an increase in sales and an increase in the acceptance of his food and other ethnic foods.Two years ago the lamb fries were so popular that Holy Land ran out, Wadi said, so now the meat has to be reserved far in advance and it’s hard to procure enough quantities for the fair. Wadi said he hopes to be able to bring the item back to the fair next year, but for this year fairgoers will have to look for their other items, like falafel-on-a-stick, kushari rice and tabouleh salad.After a three-year hiatus from the fair, La Loma Tamales is back for their fifth year as one of the featured restaurants at the MGM booth inside the International Bazaar. Continue Reading

Gymnastics meets horseback riding at Minnesota State Fair

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The Minnesota State Fair has one of the premier horse expositions in the Upper Midwest and all events are free with gate admission. Each year, the Fair offers new features to the horse show. New to the 2014 State Fair was the Northern Lakes Vaulters and Gaited Horse Demonstration at the Warner Coliseum Aug. 24. The large audience was in awe watching graceful gymnastic aerial moves on the back of a trotting horse. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | DigiFest goes viral at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand

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Photos by Jeff Rutherford
It was hard to tell if it was thunder in the sky or the cheering of thousands of teens at the DigiFest Minnesota concert at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand Sunday. It was both. The occasional rain downpours never dampened the thundering cheering of fans devoted to beloved YouTube and Vine personalities gathered in one place. To be sure, DigiFest is all about social media. I attempted to find a brochure, a flyer, a catalog, something that would explain what a DigiFest was. Continue Reading