At the Fair with Kids

Note: A HUGE Thank You to my Mom, Sheree Frazier, for writing this post with me!

There is SO MUCH to do at the MN State Fair with kids; if you don’t know what to do except visit the Miracle of Birth center, barns, and the giant slide this post is for you.

I had a great list of amenities I was going to share about free water, cell phone charging, sunscreen, and nursing facilities. The MN State Fair website has a fantastic list of available amenities that is more comprehensive than my list.

Somewhere I have photos that would be great in this post, I just can’t find any of them.

When to Visit and Basic Planning 

If you have a choice pick a weekday to visit the fair. Unless you are an experienced fair enthusiast I would recommend you avoid Saturdays due to crowd size. I always recommend arriving by 8am to avoid the larger afternoon crowds. Plan to spend a minimum of 6 hours at the fair to visit a few attractions, see a show, and eat a variety of food. To maximize your time use the MN State Fair website to determine the shows, animals, and attractions you may want to visit and highlight the items that are only available at specific times. When you get to the fair pick up a daily schedule and a map to have the information readily available.

Unless you are spending more than 8 hours at the fair you are going to need to limit your scheduled activities to no more than 3 or you will spend a lot of valuable time running to an activity. For younger families I’d pick a show at The Family Fair stage.

Plan your scheduled activities first and then determine how much money you are willing to spend on paid activities and select the activities that fit your budget and family preferences. Again, I would limit this to 1 paid activity.

Prioritize your unscheduled activities – do you have a strong interest in horses? Rabbits? Robots? Recycling? Find the exhibits that fit your interests and pick several.

Unless your child has a medical need for a wagon, don’t bring a wagon they are cumbersome and not as easy to maneuver through crowds as a stroller. Also, the rest of the fair goers hate wagons and people pulling wagons. If you need a double stroller use a front/back stroller rather than a side by side.

Safety

Important things first – safety. The fair is busy, average daily attendance last year was over 160,00 people per day with daily totals ranging from 116,000 to 242,000. Your first stop should be at a State Fair Information Booth to pick up a free identification wrist band. The wrist band stores your contact information should you and your child become separated. Snap a photo of your child before entering the fair should you need to provide a description of what your child is wearing.

Discuss safety procedures with your child before you arrive at the fair. Let your child know what he or she should do if you become separated. Point out police officers and EMTs as good resources for your child to approach. Beyond police officers decide what your family is comfortable implementing as a protocol. Some people recommend instructing a child to approach another family with children for assistance. My family has a designated meeting space should we become separated (still in place now) this is a great option for older children. Do not count on cell service being reliable.

If you find a lost child stay with the child in the location you locate the child within reason. If you locate a screaming, lost child in the middle of a busy intersection for the sanity of EVERYONE move to the side of the road. Ask if the child has an identification wrist band and use the contact information to attempt to contact the family. Any state fair employee should know the protocols and be able to assist in notifying the State Fair Police who will take the lost child to the Care And Assistance booth.

Don’t think this won’t or can’t happen to you. I got separated from my Mom at the fair, sure, I was 20, but it still happened quickly, was panic inducing, and was pre-cell phone! My family has a long-standing protocol to go to the ramp for the Space Tower ride if we become separated; we found each other before having to trek across the grounds to the Space Tower, but I knew where to find Mom if I needed to.

Lost children, located by fair personnel, will be reunited with families at Care & Assistance on West Dan Patch Avenue outside of The West End.

What We are Doing

The list of kid-friendly activities is long and you won’t have time to do everything. The full list is below, but here is a shorter list of what we prioritize as a family.

• Monty’s Traveling Reptile Show – the kids like to visit snakes, the alligator, and the turtles. This exhibit is $3 per person and does not typically have a wait.
• Miracle of Birth Center – the kids like to see the chicks and rabbits and take a glance at the other animals. This is a very busy exhibit. Park your stroller outside and keep a close eye on your child.
• Family Fair at Baldwin Park – I recommend the Sean Emery show for kids and adults at 12:30 and 5:00 daily. I also recommend Tuey the first 2 days at 10:30, 11:30 and 3:00. We will also play in the giant sand box and possibly visit math-on-a-stick and the alphabet forest.
• Eco-Experience – each year this building offers various hands on activities. The kids like to check out what is available here and play in the outdoor park in front of the building.
• Giant Slide – I recommend the slide even though it costs $2.50 per ride. This is a state fair tradition for my family.
• Parade – the kids love the daily parade at 2:00. The parade has marching bands, floats, characters, and visiting royalty.
• Kidway – we purchase tickets in advance at Cub Foods and allow the kids to spend time riding crazy rides. There is now a nice, new restroom next to the Kidway and the Tot Boss food truck is close!
• Spin-o-Paint – the kids love spin o paint and so do my sister and I! Last  year I believe this cost $5.
• St. Paul Police K9 Demo – daily at 7:00 pm the St. Paul Police put on a free demo in the pet pavilion area. This demo is fun for kids and adults.

We don’t spend time in the barns because my sister’s allergies won’t allow us even a few minutes. Depending on our available time we may or may not visit Little Farm Hands (I LOVE this exhibit), Home Depot, and see the stunt dog or lumberjack show.

Free Entertainment

The fair offers a significant amount of free entertainment that is kid-friendly. Pick up a daily schedule at an information booth and select the activities that interest your family. This list is in no specific order. What you start with depends on how you arrive at the fair and what time you arrive.

• Little Farm Hands – this is a hands on exhibit presented by Kemps. Kids walk through a simulated farm and feed animals, drive the tractor, plant vegetables, milk cows, pick apples, sell at the farmers’ market, and get a free treat at the end. The lines for this exhibit get long later in the day. This exhibit is open at 8am before most other exhibits, visit early.
• Miracle of Birth Center – see baby farm animals and babies being born. GO EARLY in the day as this exhibit gets busy.
• Barns – visit animals and participate in games or demonstrations at the Moo Booth, Baa Booth, Oink Booth and EquiMania booth. These booths are where you get silly paper hats with animal ears!
• Eco-Experience – this building has several hands on exhibits to engage kids. The exhibits change but my niece and nephew always spend time playing in this building. There is a small play space outside of the front of the building.
• Family Fair at Baldwin Park – free entertainment on stage several times per day, giant sand box stocked with sand toys and fully fenced, alphabet forest with crafts and alphabet games, math-on-a-stick with math games, and shady spaces to sit. We recommend Tuey the comic stunt juggler at 10:30, 11:30, and 3:00 on the 23rd and 24th and Sean Emery at 12:30 and 5:00 every day. Even without kids these two shows are entertaining.

• Horse shows – daily in the Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum there are horse shows. The type of show changes daily, look for details in your daily schedule.
• Parade – the state fair parade happens every day at 2:00 pm.
• Giant Sing Along – if anyone in your family likes to burst out in song this exhibit allows you to sing along with a bunch of strangers!
• Lumberjack Show – this show is offered at 3:00, 5:30, and 7:00 daily in the North Woods. This show is entertaining to watch for kids and adults. Seating for this show will fill up and you should plan to arrive 20 minutes early.
• Stunt Dog Show – this show is offered at 11:00, 2:00, and 4:30 daily at the North Woods. This show features dogs dock diving and performing tricks. Seating for this show will fill up and you should plan to arrive 20 minutes early.
• Home Depot – Typically Home Depot offers kids the chance to build a small project for free. I’ve seen a race car, flower pot, bug catcher, tool box, and a boat. Projects change each year and take 10-30 minutes.
• Pet Pavilion – meet dog breeds
• State Fair Mascots – meet Fairchild and Fairborn at the visitor’s plaza at 11:00 am and 4:00 pm every day.
• X-Zone – if you have a kid into skateboarding or BMX bikes x-zone offers shows multiple times per day and will make you glad you enforce helmet rules.
• Fireworks – if you happen to still be at the fair after dark the fireworks follow the Grandstand show every night.

Paid Entertainment

No comments indicate an activity I have never participated in and can’t provide commentary around.

• Giant Slide – this is a must do for my family. Last year tickets were $2.50 per rider per ride.
• The Great Big Wheel
• Kidway/Midway – purchase tickets before the fair at Cub Foods for the best price. If you don’t get a Blue Ribbon Bargain Book for $5 and use the $8 off a $25 sheet of 30 ride tickets coupon. A selection of rides are available for less ride tickets on Thrifty Thursday (August 23rd), Kids Day (August 27th), Read & Ride Day (August 29th) and Kids and Last Chance Day (September 3rd).
• Ye Old Mill – a “tunnel of love” in a small boat and a living piece of state fair history.
• Space Tower – ride for a panoramic view of the fairgrounds and air conditioning.
• River Raft Ride
• Go Karts
• Haunted House
• Skyride – you can use the Skyride to connect the east and west ends of the fairgrounds. I prefer the Skyride to the newer SkyGlider for the history and the enclosed car.
• SkyGlider – you can use the SkyGlider to connect the middle and north ends of the fairgrounds.
• Adventure Park – pay a lot of money for “thrill” rides.
• Monty’s Traveling Reptile Show – visit lizards, alligators, snakes, and turtles in a typically crowd-free space for $3.
• Bob’s Snake Zoo
• Butterfly Garden – pay to have bugs land on you.

Kid-Friendly Food

It isn’t difficult to find kid-friendly food at the fair, hot dogs, ice cream, cookies, cotton candy and other sweet treats can be found easily. Below is a list of a few items you may not be aware of or of common items where I have a strong preference for a particular vendor.

• Apple Cider Pops – in the horticulture building you can get a frozen cider pop cheap. I don’t know this year’s price, but I believe they were $1-$1.50 last year. These are a refreshing treat and larger than a typical Mr. Freeze pop.
• Kids Meals – the following locations offer kids meals: Giggles Campfire Grill, The Hanger, Minnekabob, and the Hamline Church Dining Hall
• Corn Dogs, Hot Dogs, and Pronto Pups – you are never more than a few steps from a corn dog, a pronto pup, or a hot dog at the fair. I prefer the Corn Dogs from Poncho Dog near the bottom of the Grandstand ramp.
• Mini Donuts – do yourself a favor and get your mini donuts at Tom Thumb Donuts, you can’t go wrong. You can, however, go wrong at other donut vendors. I despise the donuts outside of The Grandstand – we threw away an entire bag. A vendor near the Kidway offered us NAKED donuts with NO sugar. Tiny Tim Donuts is a solid choice too, but I prefer Tom Thumb.
• Water – the Rice Kristie bar booth has affordable bottled water.

Photo Ops

Several vendor booths and attractions offer cut outs for photo opportunities. I don’t have a complete list, but I’ve got a BOLO on these for Thursday and will post updates. Here are the ones I’m aware of.

• Little Farm Hands
• Australian Potatoes food vendor
• EquiMania in the horse barn
• The Education Building may have cut outs from a specific exhibit, last year it was a theater group
• PBS booth often has cut outs from popular shows
• State Fair Mascots are available for meet and greet at the Visitor’s Plaza at 11 and 4 daily

Get Away from the Crowds

Depending on how busy the fair is the day you visit these spaces may not be entirely crowd free. We like to use the space between Admin and the J.V. Bailey house to let the kids run free prior to the parade. This is a large green space that isn’t usually too busy. East of the International Bazaar is a little used path with surrounding green space. The seating at the stages is  nearly empty during change over from one show to the next.

You can find places to relax at the fair!