State Fair announces new ‘Kickoff to Summer’ event

The Minnesota State Fair is on track to take place at the end of August but, if that seems too far away, a new event will offer an earlier taste of the fair later this month.

Tuesday, the State Fair announced "Kickoff to Summer at the Fair," which will run from May 27-31 at the State Fairgrounds.

The new event will feature food and beverage favorites from the State Fair, along with entertainment, the Giant Slide, games and more.

"Last year’s Food Parades were a big hit, but they were also very limited," State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said. "This year, we’re very happy to bring people back in a walk-around environment to enjoy a slice of the fair."

Tickets are $12.50 each, and children under the age of 4 are able to enter for free. Each ticket sold will be for a specific date and timeslot, with a limit of 10,000 being sold for each timeslot, in accordance with current state guidelines, event organizers said.

A lottery process will be used to randomly select people for a chance to buy tickets. Registration for that lottery process is open through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 6.

Guests will be required to follow current health and safety guidelines, including wearing masks, and people eating or drinking will be required to be seated.

Participating vendors include favorites like Big Fat Bacon, Blue Moon Dine-In Theater, Minnesnowii Shave Ice, Mouth Trap Cheese Curds, Produce Exchange, Pronto Pups, Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar and more.

The list of merchants includes Angry Minnow Vintage and Crowned Crow, Crystal Visions, Gentleman Forager, Sota Clothing, among others.

A list of entertainment can be found here.

More details on the event are available online.