The Minnesota State Fair is nothing if not a bit unusual. This is the 12-day event where princesses’ heads are carved out of 90-pound blocks of butter, and where events have included the intentional collision of two locomotive engines and the display of embalmed whales.
The University of Minnesota leans toward the vanilla when it comes to its presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Not that there’s anything wrong with vanilla, which is having its moment.
But with a State Fair history spanning 167 years, there are more than a few University-related quirky stories and factoids to reflect on as the fair gets ready to kick off on Aug. 27.
The tasty and imaginative sides of 4-H
Few things are more synonymous with the fair — other than agriculture and its offshoot, food — than 4-H (Head, Heart, Hands and Health).
University of Minnesota Extension’s 4-H is the largest youth development program in the state, serving more than 50,000 young people every year and offering hands-on learning opportunities across Minnesota for youth in kindergarten through one year post–high school. Nearly 5,000 Minnesota 4-H youth earn trips to the State Fair each year to showcase their projects.
Exhibit A: Earning their bread
There are a number of amazing archival photos of 4-H youth engaging in various competitions at the fair over the years (see this 2025 story), and this one is no exception. There are clearly many components of award-winning bread, and don't forget the flavor.
Exhibit B: Is that a country legend or a llama?!
Did we mention that 4-H can be extremely fun? Witness the annual 4-H Llama-Alpaca Costume Competition. At this annual State Fair animal science event, 4-H'ers and their llamas/alpacas dress as outlandishly as possible and parade around the livestock arena to impress judges. To do this, 4-H'ers must not only be creative, they must train their llamas and alpacas to accept being costumed. Previous costumes have included a clown, a box of popcorn, a dinosaur, a Spam server and this creation.
Jiminy Crickets, was that ever delicious!
In 2018, Professor Sujaya Rao tested her somewhat exotic food idea in the perfect venue — at the University’s Research Facility at the State Fair. According to an article in Minnesota Alumni magazine, Rao and her assistants found 175 fairgoers to taste chips made with cricket flour and compare them to traditional potato chips. She called her experiment “Jiminy Crickets.”
The results were interesting: A majority of respondents (55 percent) preferred the chips flavored with crickets. In addition, 67% reported a willingness to eat other insects, and 71% said they would be open to serving cricket-flavored potato chips at a party. As Rao noted, bugs can serve as a cheap protein source, provided people are willing to eat them.
Is that a milk mustache you’re wearing?
Perhaps U.S. Senator (1959–1971) Eugene McCarthy needed a glass or two of milk at the fair after eating some cookies. (Cricket potato chips weren’t a thing yet at the time.) McCarthy earned a graduate degree at the University of Minnesota before a long political career that included stints in both the U.S. House and Senate. Here he is in 1966 sharing some milk (at the all-you-can-drink stand) — and likely learning more about the dairy industry — with Princess Kay of the Milky Way Linda Kottke.
Epic rainfall event remembered
Were you at the State Fair on Aug. 30, 1977? Assuming not, here’s what happened, as shared a few years ago by Mark Seeley, professor emeritus from the University’s Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and beloved expert about all things Minnesota weather.
The weather became cloudy hour by hour and the dew point rose gradually until it was an uncomfortable 70°F by early evening. As the Grandstand show got underway it began to rain. From 9-10 p.m. nearly 3 inches of rain fell, flooding the streets and sidewalks. There was widespread flooding all around the Twin Cities; many highways were flooded and in some areas vehicles were abandoned. The 7.28 inches of rainfall recorded at MSP Airport remained the greatest single day rainfall total until July 23, 1987 when 9.15 inches fell over a six-hour period.
Seed art and ‘Soya Borealis’
A can’t-miss stop for many fairgoers is the crop art exhibit in the Agriculture Horticulture Building. This isn’t unique to the University of Minnesota, although the University has worked tirelessly to improve crops and yields over the years.
In 2023, Lucas Roberts, a PhD candidate in the University’s Lorenz Soybean Lab, won a crop art ribbon for this clever creation of the northern lights, titled “Soya Borealis: Genetic Diversity is Lit.” He used only soybeans originating from the University of Minnesota’s soybean breeding program. This was his first attempt at crop art.
Supersized crop art
Lastly, this didn’t happen at the state fair, but it was pretty dang close. In 2014, students in the soybean breeding program created the "Big Golden M" on the St. Paul campus (see video below) —a short walk from the fairgrounds — using MinnGold, a crop with gold-colored leaves.
This year’s Minnesota State Fair runs Aug. 27–Sept. 7. Visit statefair.umn.edu for a full schedule of University of Minnesota locations, events, giveaways, research opportunities and more.
Bonus trivia
Try your hand at some Minnesota State Fair trivia.
Q: What was blamed for reducing attendance at the 1875 Minnesota State Fair?
A: Blame it on insects! In this case, not tasty crickets but grasshoppers.
Q: How many gallons of Vietnamese iced coffee is sold each year at QueViet Concessions, co-owned by University of Minnesota alum Vy Bui?
A: 1,410 gallons of coffee
Q: What song did John Philip Sousa first perform at the State Fair in 1927?
A: Minnesota March, composed for the University of Minnesota.
Q: In 1902, the St. Paul and Minneapolis school boards pushed back the opening day of school to the Monday after Labor Day. What was their reason for doing this?
A: Education authorities stated there was “more to be learned in a single day at the fair than in double the time at school or college.” (It's a good thing that classes don't start on the Twin Cities campus until the day after the fair ends.)
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