State Fair Day 4: Fiddle Contests, Milk Runs and Minnesota Chefs

Nearly two million people are expected to descend on the Minnesota State Fair’s 320-acre grounds over the next 12 days for concerts, contests, cows and corn dogs. Here’s Roseville Patch’s rundown of what you need to know for Day 4.

To know:  Barns close at 3 p.m., and cattle, goats, rabbits, pigeons, sheep and swine will be replaced by new animals. The weather is expected to be 81 degrees with a 30 percent chance of rain. Check out the fair’s website for a full schedule of the day’s activities and events.

To race: The 27th annual 5k Milk Run begins at 7:45 a.m. at the Blue Ribbon Picnic Area. The course winds through St. Paul before returning to the fairgrounds for the finish.

To watch: The Minnesota State Fiddle Contest comes to its conclusion at 2 p.m. in Heritage Square with trick fiddling and twin fiddling contests, and with a championship playoff.

To taste: It’s Minnesota Cooks Day at the fair, and Carousel Park is home to discussions and demonstrations about sustainable agriculture with Minnesota chefs, farmers, local media, political and arts celebrities. Twelve chefs present 45-minute cooking demonstrations, and audience interaction is encouraged.

To hear: Six bands—Theory of a Deadman, Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, My Darkest Days, Adelitas Way and Emphatic—will play at the grandstand during the “Carnival of Madness.” General admission tickets are available for $35 and reserved grandstand for $30.

Quote for the day: “Amid all this rotating neon and the mechanical clowns and plunging machinery’s roar and jagged screams and barkers’ pitches and high-volume rock, [the crowds] seem radically happy, vivid, somehow awakened, sponges for sensuous data, not bombarded by the stimuli but feeding on it.” - David Foster Wallace, on the Illinois State Fair.

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Before heading to the Great Minnesota Get Together:

Hours: Admission gates open daily at 6 a.m. Ticket sales end at 10 p.m. (9 p.m. on Labor Day). Grounds close at midnight (10 p.m. on Labor Day). Most buildings are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Cost: Adults (13-64) pay $12, seniors and children 5 and over pay $10, and children under 5 are admitted for free. Promotional days are offered throughout the fair, Pre-fair discount admission is available for purchase through Aug. 24.

Transportation: The Minnesota State Fairgrounds are located at 1265 North Snelling Ave. N. in St. Paul. Maps and directions are available on the fair’s website. Note that light-rail construction on University Avenue will slow traffic flow; the fair’s website has tips on how to avoid the congestion. 

Transportation options:

Car
Fairgrounds parking
State fair parking lots cost $12 and can be accessed off Larpenteur, Snelling, or Cleveland avenues. Discount tickets can be purchased in advance through Aug. 24 at Cub Foods or the State Fair Box Office. (Motorcycle parking is offered for $6 on Como Avenue.)

Free park and ride
Free parking is available at 34 locations around the fairgrounds. Complimentary buses leave every 20 minutes from 8 a.m. to midnight to pick up fair-goers. In 2010, the park and ride program gave 920,000 rides.

Bike
Free bike racks are offered at the Como-Snelling and Hoyt-Snelling gates and at Commonwealth-West Dan Patch from 6 a.m. to midnight daily.

Bus
Regular bus routes
Three buses service the fair and accept cash or transit passes. Route 960 goes from Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis to the fairgrounds in about 15 minutes. Route 84 travels along Snelling Avenue. Route 3 connects downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul along Como Avenue.

Express bus service
State Fair Express buses operate from 17 Twin Cities locations on 15- and 30-minute loops. Check the fair’s express bus website for more information.

Navigating the fair
The state fair’s website has downloadable maps of the grounds and daily activity schedules. You can also keep checking Patch for a daily rundown of the top five things to see and do at the fair.

Smart phones
The state fair is also smart phone accessible, with a mobile website and stand-alone apps for iPhones and Android phones that include a manipulable map and the ability to search listings of events, merchandise and food.