2011 Great Minnesota Get-Together a Success

ST. PAUL, MINN. (09/06/2011)(readMedia)-- Final numbers are in. Total attendance for the 2011 Minnesota State Fair was 1,769,872, making it the third-best-attended Great Minnesota Get-Together in history and just 20,000 short of the best ever. A daily attendance record was set on Sunday, Sept. 4 with 229,943 people attending that day. Additionally, this year's Labor Day weekend was easily the best-attended on record with 600,332 people visiting the fair in just three days. Extreme heat, high humidity and cold held attendance down on a few days, but weather during the final weekend was spectacular.

The Minnesota State Fair's agricultural and creative competitions drew close to 36,000 entries this year, with competitors vying for a share of ribbons, trophies and more than $1 million in prize money. Competitions included events for livestock, school projects, dog trials, baked and canned goods, fruit, vegetables, crafts, bee and honey products, fine arts, farm crops, flowers, butter, cheese and more.

The State Fair's 100th Fine Arts Exhibition featured the largest juried art show in Minnesota. The People's Choice Award went to "Nobody Takes Buses Anymore," a charcoal and pencil on paper piece by Daniel Volenec of Eden Prairie. Kyle Fokken of Minneapolis won the Kids' Choice Award for a mixed media and found-object sculpture entitled "Airway to Heaven."

The 4-H Purple Ribbon Auction brought in a record $370,000 to benefit 4-H programs.

In open class, supreme champion titles were awarded to the best grand champions out of all beef and dairy breeds. Supreme Champion Dairy Female went to a Red & White exhibited by Reid Stransky of Owatonna. A Charolais exhibited by Haley Stalcup of Prescott, Wisc. was awarded Supreme Champion Beef Female. David Gottshalk of Byron exhibited the Hereford that won Supreme Champion Beef Bull.

FFA Supreme Champion Breeding Female premiums were also awarded. Supreme Sheep Champion Breeding Female went to Isaiah Bauck of New York Mills. Rachel Friese of Wanamingo won for Supreme Dairy Champion Breeding Female. Supreme Beef Champion Breeding Female went to Dan Fox of Rosemount. Lorna Riemer of Alden took the Supreme Swine Champion Breeding Female award.

Supreme Draft Horse Stallion, Mare and Gelding were honored again in 2011. Supreme Stallion went to a Percheron exhibited by Freeman Yoder of Plum City, Wisc. Supreme Mare was awarded to a Percheron shown by David Anderson of Ontario, Canada. A Percheron exhibited by Ames Percheron Farms of Jordan, Minn. was awarded Supreme Gelding.

The Douglas K. Baldwin Award for FFA?livestock show participation and leadership went to Brianna Jahn of Kerkhoven from the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg FFA?Chapter.

Mary Zahurones of Pierz was crowned the 58th Princess Kay of the Milky Way and will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for Minnesota's nearly 4,500 dairy farmers for the year.

The award-winning CHS Miracle of Birth Center welcomed dozens of baby chicks and ducklings into the world along with 161 other newborn animals, including 117 piglets, 15 calves and 29 lambs.

Grandstand attendance was 95,895?(not including Amateur Talent Contest Finals) with the Def Leppard & Heart, Toby Keith & Eric Church, and Train & Maroon 5 shows being sell outs.

Nearly 10,000 fans cheered on the best amateur talent in the state at the 38th annual State Fair Amateur Talent Contest Finals Sept. 4 at the Grandstand. Winners were--Open Division: First place went to guitar soloist Connor Engstrom of Mountain Lake. Minneapolis beatbox soloist Del Boogie took second place with his vocal percussion number. Third place was awarded to Caitlin Heaney of St. Paul for her vocal solo "Don't Rain On My Parade." Teen Division: Tori Adams of Edina took first place for the vocal solo "Time To Say Goodbye." Second place was awarded to Sylvia Borash from Baxter who performed a dance solo. Third place went to Josh Swensen of Waconia for his vocal and guitar solo rendition of "Folsom Prison Blues." Preteen Division: First place went to Josie Nelson of Alexandria for her vocal and guitar solo "Sunshine." Piano soloists Emma Taggart from Blaine and Thomas Wong of Little Canada took second and third place, respectively.

Kim Robinson of Bloomington and Daniel Murray of Blue Earth were the overall female and male 5K Milk Run winners with times of 17:30 and 17:04 respectively.

The 2011 Outstanding Senior Citizen Awards were presented to Joan Oja of Pengilly in Itasca County and Ronald Erickson of St. Paul. A ceremony was held at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell on Thursday, Sept. 1 to honor 99 seniors representing 54 Minnesota counties.

New additions to this year's State Fair included: The Giant Sing Along, a participatory public art experience that invited fair guests to sing together in a field of microphones; Flippenout Extreme Trampoline Show; Doggies of the Wild West frontier stunt show; the Lost Heroes Art Quilt, honoring fallen Americans since 9/11; the Minnesota State Fair App for iPhone and Android; Military Appreciation Day; the "FAIR-Well-to-Summer" Dance Party; and Maxxx Super Flyyy, an extreme swing ride in Adventure Park.

The 2011 fair featured nearly two dozen new foods, including the Breakfast Lollipop; Carnitas Asian Fusion Tacos; Chan's teriyaki chicken on-a-stick; chocolate-covered jalapenos on-a-stick; Coushari rice with lentils; crab fritters; Dirt Dessert; fresh fruit wraps; the Grilled Yankee Apple Pie &?Chocolate Sandwich; Jamaican Jerk Fries; the Mexican Horchata drink; Minneapple Pie; Northwoods Salad on-a-stick; Pham's Chow Fun; pizza kabobs on-a-stick; pretzel dogs; Southside Rib Tips; Spring Grove Soda Pop; Starberi Frozen yogurt; sweet corn ice cream; T-Bonz chicken pitas; and White Razzie Puppies on-a-stick. In total, vendors served up more than 450 different types of food, 60+ of which were on-a-stick.

The 2012 Minnesota State Fair will run Aug. 23 through Labor Day, Sept. 3.

For more information visit www.mnstatefair.org, call (651) 288-4400 or e-mail fairinfo@mnstatefair.org.