Showing posts with label Minnesota State Fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota State Fair. Show all posts

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Memories of the Great Minnesota Get Together—The MN State Fair Starts Today!


Did you feel it when you woke up this morning? That tingling of anticipation? That unmistakable rush of excitement when you heard that the gates opened at 6 AM this morning? If you did, you are undoubtedly a Minnesotan! Yep the cars and people started streaming onto the streets of the MN State Fair at the crack of dawn this morning. All the TV news programs were there showing what we could expect new in the line of food on a stick…or heart attack on a paper tray if you saw the chicken-fried bacon strips and deep-fried bologna. (But don’t worry…there is a health care booth on scene to check your blood pressure and heart rate!)

People who are not from our state don’t always feel the rush of nostalgia and longing for these ten days that wrap up our Minnesota summers. They don’t realize that our fair is a permanent location that opens to this huge EVENT just once a year! They have never had the opportunity to by a ticket and attend the evening concerts at the Grandstand. See a Dairy Princess have her likeness carved out of butter. Strolled through the horse, pig , and poultry barns to see the prized hog and sheep shearing competitions. Marveled at those daredevils in stunt shows or tried your own stunt by cruising on a burlap sack down the Giant Slide.

So as a REALTOR®, I like to entice people to consider relocating to Minnesota. We are not buried in snow year-round around here, ya know! It is a beautiful state with amazing and fun events…And the Minnesota State Fair is one of my favorites!

From my earliest memories, some of my favorite times were spent at the MN State Fair. It was a family event where we would meet up with our grandma, aunts and cousins. We would buy Salt Water Taffy, drink all the milk we could drink for a quarter (I think it is $1 now) and play games in the midway. There was the year my 5 year old brother stopped to look at a toy display and got lost…unfortunately, we found him. (Just Kidding...Love ya Mike!)
There was the year I went with my best buddy from high school for three days straight. As a college freshman at Hamline University, we were right across the bridge from the fairgrounds. During a lull in orientation weekend, I convinced several new friends from out of state to walk over and enjoy the last day of the event. A year later I went with my new boyfriend to four grandstand concerts in one week. He is now my husband and over the years we have seen several shows including Kenny Rogers, Rick Springfield, Eddie Rabbitt, Johnny Cash and Alabama….from the names of the bands you can tell we haven’t gone to a concert for a few years.

When my oldest was still stroller aged, we took him for his first visit to the fair. After a real-lemon lemonade, he took one of the pieces and stuck it is his mouth. And suddenly someone shouted, “Hey look at the baby sucking lemons!” Yep…people-watching is one of the favorite pastimes at the fair. It is especially scoping out people enjoying the tons of various foods...usually on a stick. I heard that there are 60 different food-on-a stick choices this year.

As the kids got older, we made it a point to stop at the Education Building to see the exhibits and collect all the free stuff from the colleges and organizations. Several of the pine trees the kids won from the forestry booth are still alive…though much taller…in our yard today. Another highlight was the Home Depot booth to build a souvenir. Sure you could do this on any Saturday morning if you were under 12 at a local store but it was so much more exciting to do it at the fair!
See that is the joy of the Minnesota State Fair…Everything is more exciting there. It is quite an event. Twelve glorious days at the end of summer to people watch at its best. It ends Labor Day so hurry!










Copyright 2010
terieckholm.com

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Almost Speechless Sunday--Going Above the Crowd at the Minnesota State Fair!



RE/MAX real estate professionals are known to go above the crowd...usually in the famous red and white balloon. (Okay, if you want to see the balloon pictures I took in White Bear Lake last year, click here.) But I took the opportunity to take a quick trip above the crowd on the Skyride, one of the permanent fixtures at the Minnesota State Fair, last summer. Quite a view that shouldn't be missed if you are going to the fair this summer!

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2011 www.terieckholm.com

Thursday, August 14, 2008

One Week and Counting Down to the GREAT Minnesota State Fair!

It’s Coming! We are just a week away from the great Minnesota get together...better known as the Minnesota State Fair! Preparations for this fabulous event were well underway early this week. Though it looks a bit of a ghost town as of Monday when we were dropping off a few entries at the education building, there were signs of the frantic activity soon to come.

Trailers were parked strategically near displays and buildings still without signage.



Crews of hard working men were pulling up tents and working on other displays.
Though only a lone piece of farm equipment adorned Machinery Hill, there will no doubt be several more tractors on display soon.





The roads were clear of the mass of humanity that blocks every street and corner on a busy day in the last week of summer. In a remote corner of my mind I was certain I heard the echo of a long ago request for a Prontopup with ketchup and another for Tom Thumb Mini Donuts…Or was that a voice of the future? Probably both.

The 2008 Minnesota State Fair starts Thursday, August 21 and runs through Labor Day, September 2. For additional information and schedules, CLICK HERE to visit the MN State Fair website.



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If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a
FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.


Copyright 2008 terieckholm.com

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Goodbye Summer! As the MN State Fair Ends, Another School Year Begins in Forest Lake.


September always means one thing in the Forest Lake school district
: Back to School. Summer fun and events are over and a new school year begins. As soon as the final footlong hotdog is sold at the Minnesota State Fair and the final blue ribbon awarded, the school bells ring and new opportunities begin.

Memories of the fair have yet to fade. The corn dogs were great and the ride on the Space Needle was awesome. It is a once a year chance to see the entire Twin Cities from the top of the tower. Our chance sighting of a presidential hopeful before he officially threw his hat into the ring was exciting. Minnesota is a great place to stump even for a not yet official candidate like Fred Thompson. Catching a glimpse of a former Twin like Kent Hrbek at some place other than the Metrodome is just one reason to attend the fair. Learning about our great state from exhibits is another. It is amazing what has been fished out of Minnesota lakes and how it can be transformed into art.

Summer is officially over with the end of the state fair. Now a week into the school year district residents are anticipating Forest Lake Rangers football games, band concerts and the field trips. Approximately 7,500 students attend the 12 Forest Lake schools. The district encompasses one of the largest geographical areas in the state, 240 square miles and serves 12 communities. Towns and cities include Columbus, Linwood, Ham Lake, Hugo, Scandia, Lino Lakes, Marine, Stacy, May Township, Forest Lake and Wyoming. From
preschool through adult continuing education
there is something for everyone in the Forest Lake area schools programs.

As summer ends we are no longer on top of the world but with our feet firmly on the ground. Students and their families become more deeply involved in school activities. It is time to visit a school, sign up for a class, attend a musical or cheer at a sporting event. It may be the end of summer in Minnesota but the fall is always the start of something special to residents in the Forest Lake School District.

If you are relocating to Minnesota, are looking for Homes for Sale in the north and east Twin Cities metro area and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage properties! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2007 www.terieckholm.com/

Rent Continues to Rise in Minneapolis & St Paul MN

The September Rent report just released by ABODO shows te average rate to lease a one bedroom apartment in St Paul to be increasing ...