MN State Fair — Fairborne & Fairchild, MN State Fair, St. Paul, Minnesota, August 2010, all photos © 2009-2010 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
The Minnesota State Fair kicked off this week and it’s time for our annual State Fair post on red Ravine. We’ve covered a lot of history over the years, including the debut of Peach Glazed Pig Cheeks On-A-Stick, the fine art of Princess Kay of the Milky Way (and the Butter Queens), Minnesota State Fair poster artists, the history of Fairborne and Fairchild, and the tradition of Tom Thumb Donuts.
This year we honor the work of two writers who have written about the Minnesota State Fair. In 1928, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his classic short story “A Night at the Fair.” And this year, Debra Frasier, author of On the Day You Were Born and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation’s current Author-in-Residence, has written and illustrated A Fabulous Fair Alphabet.
Debra Frasier — A Fabulous Fair Alphabet
What started as a collection of photographs taken by Minneapolis author Debra Frasier on daily visits 
to the Minnesota State Fair, has turned into a work of book art. A Fabulous Fair Alphabet is Frasier’s tribute to the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” and the impetus for the State Fair Alphabet Project, a labor of love for hundreds of Minnesotans who are passionate about early learning. The book has also gained national acclaim, with the New York Times noting, “Frasier brings to life a jaunty Ferris wheel, a sunburst-yellow pitcher of lemonade and a swirling roller coaster.”
The book is interactive and there is a wonderful article about Frasier’s process in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She intentionally left the front-piece page blank in hopes that families will use the page to personalize their copies of the book as a keepsake, a place to store their own Fair memories, images, and words:
Going to the State Fair together is a ritual for many families. Grandparents have passed along their favorite Fair traditions to their grandchildren. The book is a place for all generations to record their experiences together. Imagine if we had a list of favorite words from our relatives’ 1901 trip to the Fair, or 1945, or 2010 for fairgoers of 2060!
-Debra Frasier
Debra Frasier will be giving book signings from Noon to 2 p.m. daily at the J.V. Bailey House (across 
from the Space Needle) and I plan to visit her there. You can also visit the Alphabet Forest at Baldwin Park, across from the 4-H building. There are teaching materials based on the book, coloring sheets, instructions on making animals-on-a-stick or a cereal box stage, a bibliography of fair-themed books, display letters, a script that deepens the story and a look at how Frasier created the book at her official website.
F. Scott Fitzgerald — A Night at the Fair
F. Scott Fitzgerald is a Twin Cities icon who continues to live on through art and author happenings at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Most Minnesotans know that he penned the short story, “A Night at the Fair,” but after a comment from one of our readers, I started to wonder how many had actually read the story (myself included).
It begins like this:
The two cities were separated only by a thin well-bridged river; their tails curling over the banks met and mingled, and at the juncture, under the jealous eye of each, lay, every fall, the State Fair. Because of this advantageous position, and because of the agricultural eminence of the state, the fair was one of the most magnificent in America. There were immense exhibits of grain, livestock and farming machinery; there were horse races and automobile races and, lately, aeroplanes that really left the ground; there was a tumultuous Midway with Coney Island thrillers to whirl you through space, and a whining, tinkling hoochie-coochie show. As a compromise between the serious and the trivial, a grand exhibition of fireworks, culminating in a representation of the Battle of Gettysburg, took place in the Grand Concourse every night.
–F. Scott Fitzgerald, A Night at the Fair
If your imagination is captured, you can read all 15 pages at Project Gutenberg. One of my favorite parts is when Scott writes about Ye Old Mill. 
The same Ye Old Mill at the Fair today. Located at the southwest corner of Carnes Avenue and Underwood Street, and touted as the “original tunnel of love,” Ye Old Mill is the oldest ride on the fairgrounds and is owned by the same family who first operated it in 1913.
The ride runs on a 40-horse power engine that turns the mill wheel and keeps water running through the 1300-foot channel. When you read Fitzgerald’s descriptions, you can imagine Basil and Riply chugging along on the Fair rides and Midway of the 1920’s. Memories preserved through story.
F. Scott Fitzgerald Walking Tour — St. Paul, Minnesota
I’m a writer who has lived in the Twin Cities for over 20 years. Until this summer, I had never seen the place where F. Scott Fitzgerald was born, walked on the steps of St. Paul Academy where he went to school (with a Fitzgerald 
statue created by Aaron Dysart), or taken a photograph of the sign at the Commodore Hotel where Scott and Zelda lived when their baby girl, Scottie, was born. Those old hotel walls have breathed in tales we can only imagine, real life stories of their drinking and partying at the Commodore bar.
For my birthday this year, our Poetry & Meditation Group walked the 13 stops of a self-guided Fitzgerald tour, from 481 Laurel, where Scott was born, to Mrs. Backus’ Boarding School at 586 Holly, the building where Scott enrolled in dance class. However, the heart of the tour is a four-block radius surrounding the intersection of Kent Street and Summit Avenue, “one of the grandest rows of Victorian Boulevard architecture anywhere in America.” From there, Summit 
stretches nearly five miles to the Mississippi River in the country’s longest span of residential, Victorian architecture.
Slip on a comfortable pair of shoes, and walk in the footsteps of the writers who came before us. Francis Scott Fitzgerald (named after Francis Scott Key) has a birthday coming up on September 24th; take the tour to celebrate his birth, brushing oaks along streets his parents walked in 1896. At the time he lived in St. Paul, F. Scott visited with writers like Sinclair Lewis and Donald Ogden Stewart. Here’s a link to every stop on the F. Scott Fitzgerald Walking Tour.
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Spaghetti & Meatball Dinner On-A-Stick, Fried Fruit On-A-Stick, Macaroni & Cheese On-A-Stick, Bull Bites, Deep Fried Tater Tots On-A-Stick, Grilled Shrimp On-A-Stick, Vintage Kids & Fair Food!, Leprechaun Legs, MN State Fair, St. Paul, Minnesota, August 2008, all photos © 2008-2010 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
MN State Fair – Foods On-A-Stick
Our Minnesota State Fair post wouldn’t be complete without the annual foods on-a-stick list. Here’s the lineup for 2010. If you are looking for the location of specific foods at the Fair, here’s a link to their FoodFinder with a map of the Fair. The Minnesota State Fair runs through Monday, September 6th. From the 20,000 gallons of milk served by the the American Dairy Association, to the 338,000 dozen mini-donuts consumed, and the 22,000 rolls of toilet paper used at the Minnesota State Fair, there is nothing else to do but ENJOY!
- Alligator Sausage on-a-stick
- Baby Potatoes on-a-stick
- Bacon (Fried) on-a-stick
- Bananas (chocolate covered) on-a-stick
- Beef Kabobs on-a-stick
- Bologna (deep-fried) on-a-stick
- Bomb Pops on-a-stick
- Butterscotch Cake on-a-stick
- Camel on-a-stick
- Candy Apples on-a-stick
- Candy Bars (deep fried) on-a-stick
- Caramel Apples on-a-stick
- Caramel Apple Puppies on-a-stick
- Catfish on-a-stick
- Cheese on-a-stick
- Cheesecake (chocolate covered) on-a-stick
- Chicken on-a-stick
- Chicken Bites on-a-stick
- Chocolate Tornado on-a-stick
- Coffee (frozen) on-a-stick
- Corndogs on-a-stick
- Cotton Candy on-a-stick
- Dessert Pizza on-a-stick
- Dixie Wings on-a-stick
- Espresso (frozen) on-a-stick
- Fruit (fresh) on-a-stick
- Fruit (fried) on-a-stick
- Fry Dog on-a-stick
- Fudge Puppies on-a-stick
- Hot Dago on-a-stick
- Hot Dish on-a-stick
- Hot Dogs (wrap) on-a-stick
- Jerk Chicken on-a-stick
- Key Lime Pie Dipped in Chocolate (frozen) on-a-stick
- Kufta Kabob on-a-stick
- Lamb (leg of) on-a-stick
- Macaroni & Cheese on-a-stick
- Marshmallows (Chocolate-dipped) on-a-stick
- Mashed Potatoes (deep-fried) on-a-stick
- Meatballs (porcupine wild rice & ground pork) on-a-stick
- Meatballs (Scotch) on-a-stick
- Meat Kabobs on-a-stick
- Nut Roll (chocolate-dipped) on-a-stick
- Pickles on-a-stick
- Pizza on-a-stick
- Poncho Dogs on-a-stick
- Pork Chops on-a-stick
- Pronto Pups on-a-stick
- Sausage on-a-stick
- Sausage and cheese stuffed jalapeno poppers on-a-stick
- Scotch Eggs on-a-stick
- Shrimp on-a-stick
- Shrimp (grilled) on-a-stick
- S’mores on-a-stick
- S’mores (deep-fried) on-a-stick
- Spaghetti & Meatballs on-a-stick
- Spudsters on-a-stick
- Steak on-a-stick
- Taffy Pops on-a-stick
- Tater Tots (deep-fried) on-a-stick
- Texas Steak Dinner on-a-stick
- Texas Tater Dog on-a-stick
- Tornado Potato on-a-stick
- Turkey Tenderloin (bacon-wrapped) on-a-stick
- Turtle Puppies on-a-stick
- Vegie Fries on-a-stick
- Vegetable Kabobs on-a-stick
- Waffle (Belgian) on-a-stick
- Walleye on-a-stick
- Wild Rice Corndog on-a-stick
- Wonder Bar (chocolate-dipped ice cream) on-a-stick
Total Number of Foods-On-A-Stick: 71*
New Minnesota State Fair Foods In 2010
(including *2 new foods on-a-stick not on list above)
- • Caramel Apple Puppies (a Fudge Puppy with baked apple and covered with caramel)
@Fudge Puppies, located on the outside west wall of the Food Building
• Cheese Pizza Served With Corn Dogs (a cheese pizza topped with corn dogs sliced the long way)
@Pizza Shoppe, located inside the Food Building
• Chicken Fried Bacon (thick cut bacon, battered, breaded and fried, and served in a boat covered with gravy)
@Giggles’ Campfire Grill, located on Cooper Street and Lee Avenue
• Chocolate Tornado (spiral-cut Tornado Potato dipped in chocolate)
@Sonny’s Spiral Spud, located inside the Food Building
• Cincinnati Chili (spaghetti noodles smothered with chili and topped with shredded cheddar, beans, and diced onions)
@Sabino’s, located inside the Warner Coliseum
• Danny Boy Burger (burger made with corned beef and covered with kraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing)
@O’Gara’s, located on the corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Cosgrove Street
• Deep-Fried Avocado (avocado pieces batter-dipped, deep-fried, and served with Ranch dressing)
@Tejas, located in The Garden
• Deep-Fried Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatoes On-A-Stick
@Potato Man and Sweetie, located on Liggett Street, south of Carnes Avenue
• Deep-Fried Bologna On-A-Stick
@Netterfield’s Food Court, located on Cooper Street, north of Dan Patch Avenue
• Deep-Fried Breakfast Wrap (scrambled eggs and bacon in a soft shell wrap, deep-fried and smothered in cheese)
@Axel’s, located outside on the southeast corner of the Food Building
•Deep-Fried Shortcake (shortcake batter deep-fried and covered with strawberries and ice cream)
@Granny’s Cheesecake and More, located on Dan Patch Avenue at Underwood Street
• Fresh Fruit Salsa and Chips (salsa made on-site with fresh fruit and covered with tortilla chips)
@Fried Fruit, located in Carousel Park on the east side of the Grandstand Ramp
• Fried Pig Ears (thinly sliced pigs ears dusted in seasoned flour, fried until crispy, and served with lime chipotle glaze)
@Famous Dave’s, located on the corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Liggett Street
• Ghost Wings (chicken wings covered in a habanero pepper sauce)
@Wings and Things, located inside the Warner Coliseum
• Grilled Marshmallow Chocolate and Banana Sandwich
@Moe and Joe’s, located on Judson Avenue by the CHS Miracle of Birth Center
• Korean Moon BBQ (Korean “street vendor” style tacos with beef short ribs, spicy/sweet pork or chicken)
@Blue Moon Dine-In Theater, located on the corner of Carnes Avenue and Chambers Street
• Sausage and cheese-stuffed jalapeno poppers
@Sausage Sister & Me, located inside the Food Building
• Sloppy Joe served over spiral-cut potato chips
@Sunny’s Spiral Spuds, located inside the Food Building
• Turtle Puppies (Fudge Puppy covered in caramel and nuts)
@Fudge Puppies, located against the outside west wall of the Food Building
State Fair photos on Flickr.
-posted on red Ravine, Sunday, August 29th, 2010
-related to posts: MN State Fair On-A-Stick (Happy B’Day MN!), On-The-Go List Of Must-Haves (MN State Fair), Nightshot – Carousel, MN State Fair On-A-Stick II – Video & Stats, food on-a-stick haiku, F. Scott Fitzgerald: On Money & Mess, Runes, Oracles, & Alphabets
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