The Minnesota State Fair Food Parade was the hot end-of-summer ticket this year.
With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down most Minnesotans' favorite group activities, including the greatest get-together, the food parade is a socially distant way to enjoy the deep-fried delicacies of the fair.
If you bought one of the 19,000 tickets before they sold out, or won them on KARE 11 Sunrise, congratulations!
If not (or even if you did), here are some fun alternatives:
The Steele County Free Fair Drive Thru Food Fest
Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 23, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Steele County Fairgrounds, Owatonna, Minnesota
If you don't mind driving out to Owatonna, you can experience another fair food drive-thru for the ages!
The Steele County Free Fair is one of the largest county fairs in Minnesota. Organizers planned to hold it in person this year, until they realized they would exceed the state's 250-person limit for events.
"It was devastating when we had to cancel our fair," said Scott Kozelka, the fair's manager.
So they came up with a car-based, socially distant alternative.
"We’ve got a little flavor of the fair here in Owatonna and Steele County," Kozelka said. "This is the first time we’ve done this ... so come with a smile, be patient, fill your tummy, go home, take a nap and come on back."
The fairgrounds will host 15 vendors, and they'll have five lanes for cars. The event is free with no attendance limit. Here's a map of the layout.
"We’re gonna try to get as many people through as we can," Kozelka said.
Vendors will be wearing masks, and they'll come up to cars and take orders - visitors cannot leave their cars. Booths will be 150-250 feet apart. Once a car stops at one booth, the driver can choose to take a "bypass lane" and leave, or visit another one. Kozelka said cash or check options are up to each vendor, but most take both.
The vendors will include:
- Evan's Eatery
- Fresh Fries
- Godfather's Pizza - Owatonna
- Goette's Pork Chop Sandwiches
- Grandma's Cookies
- Minneaple Pie
- MinneSnowii Shave Ice
- Ole and Lena's
- Otte's Old Fashioned Kettle Korn
- The Pretzel Whiz
- Schroder Concessions
- Steele County ADA Malts
- Tom Thumb Donuts
- Becker's Strawberry Smoothies
- Salted Nut Rolls
Learn more about the Steele County Free Fair Drive-Thru Food Fest on the fair's website or the Facebook event.
Poncho Dog
Friday through Sunday, Aug. 21-23, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Pop-up with Cheese Curd Tacos at 2777 East 13th Avenue, North St. Paul
Poncho Dog will be selling their State Fair Corn Dogs for $2 during a three-day run in North St. Paul. Learn more on their Facebook event.
Island Noodles
Friday, Aug. 21, 4-8 p.m.
Rush River Brewing, 990 Antler Ct, River Falls, Wisconsin
Fair favorite Island Noodles will be at Rush River Brewing Friday, Aug. 20, from 4-8 p.m.! More information is available on the Facebook event.
Cub Foods Fair Food Truck Pop-Up
Friday, Aug. 28, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 29-30, noon to 6 p.m.
Cub Foods, 13855 Rogers Drive, Rogers, Minnesota
Cub Foods in Rogers, Minnesota is hosting a Fair Food Truck Pop-Up Event from Aug. 28-30. The following vendors will be there only at specific times:
- Outlaw Grill - Friday only (Aug. 28) from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- OHM Brownies - Friday only (Aug. 28) from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sugar Sweet Donuts - every day from noon to 6 p.m.
- Snowie MN - every day from noon to 6 p.m.
More information is available on the Facebook event.
Find your own fair food!
We got most of these ideas from the Fair Food Finder group on Facebook! Join to find out where your favorite festive delicacies may be headed next, and check out our story with the group's founders here.
