Say Goodbye To Summer The Minnesotan Way At The Minnesota State Fair

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we are infamous for our long, drawn-out, can-I-go-now?, not-quite-done-yet, "Minnesota goodbyes." And when it comes to bidding farewell to our all-too-short summers, we're no different. What do we do, folks from elsewhere may be wondering? Well, we spend 12 full days at the end of summer - all the way through Labor Day - celebrating all things Minnesotan. That's right: The State Fair is our long, Minnesota goodbye to summer.

For many Minnesotans, a trip to the State Fair is how we say goodbye to summer and gird ourselves for what's to come.

We go to the fair full of hope and excitement.

We share our joy with those who attend with us or who we happen to run into - and yes, you always see somebody you know - at the Great Minnesota Get Together.

(Even though there are typically 100,000 to 200,000 folks in attendance on any given day)

Then you start in on the business of the fair. You see the biggest animals and the best animals.

And, of course, the baby animals.

We celebrate the harvest and the bounties we enjoy in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

We "ooh" and "aah" at enormous vegetables and fruits and squash. We marvel at perfect pies and obscenely uniform cookies.

We humbly remark on the great talent that hails from our state.

We celebrate by creating art celebrating great artists from the food we grow.

We honor our hard-working young ambassadors of Minnesota's dairy industry by making them princesses and sculpting their likenesses in butter while hundreds of folks carrying yardsticks and bags and sipping from $2 milkshakes look on.

Oh Princess Kay of the Milky Way, how do you stay still and stoic in that chilled studio?

The history of our state's industry is laid out across Machinery Hill, alongside its future in the Education and 4-H Buildings, as well as the Eco Experience Progress Center.

And all along the way, we eat. We sample foods from other cultures at the International Bazaar.

And we also try out all the ​​wacky and exciting new fair foods that the fair's vendors have devised for this year's event.

But there are old standards that tradition dictates we must have, no matter how many newfangled things-on-a-stick we've consumed.

Fair rules dictate at least one ear of roasted corn must be eaten per visit.

And at some point, we all have to wait in the interminable line at Sweet Martha's.

Waiting for that overflowing bucket of chocolate chip cookies that's too full to carry and that we're too full to eat.

But we nevertheless head over to the All-You Can Drink Milk Stand and eat enough cookies off the top to get the lid on the bucket, so we can take the rest home...

Where they never taste as good.

During the fair's run, you have to see at least one show, whether it's at the grandstand or one of the many other stages scattered throughout the grounds.

And as night falls, the midway is a spectacle to behold.

Even if you don't like rides or games, there's something hypnotic about the lights and the sounds of the Midway after dark.

But then, with the boom of fireworks announcing the end, it's all over.

And we're sent home, shoulder to shoulder, trying to remember where our cars are parked or which bus gets us back to our Park-and-Ride, Semisonic's "Closing Time" - a practical Minnesota anthem - ringing in our heads.

And as the weight of Labor Day's end settles on our shoulders, those left at the Fair pack up and head back to their respective homes.

Leaving nothing behind but the memories of summer, scattered like Sweet Martha's cookies on pavement.

By the time the fair ends, the days are shorter, the air is cooler, and kids are back in school.

It took a dozen days, but summer is gone, and we Minnesotans have said our farewells.

How will you say goodbye to summer this year? Is a trip to the Minnesota State Fair on your calendar? Let us know in the comments.