2012 Great Minnesota Get-Together is Second-Best-Attended in?History

ST. PAUL, MINN. (09/04/2012)(readMedia)-- Final numbers are in. Total attendance for the 2012 Minnesota State Fair was 1,788,512, making it the second-best-attended Great Minnesota Get-Together in history. This year's figure surpasses 2011 attendance of 1,769,872 by 18,640 guests. The all-time total attendance record was set in 2009 with 1,790,497 visitors. Labor Day attendance for 2012 was 152,760. All other daily figures, along with attendance history can be found at mnstatefair.org.

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 $1.1 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 Fine Arts Exhibition featured the largest juried art show in Minnesota. The People's Choice Award went to "Am I Your Pride and Joy," an oil on panel piece by Daniel Volenec of Eden Prairie. Attila Ray Dabasi of North St. Paul won the Kids' Choice Award for a clay, glass, oils and mixed materials piece entitled "Bless the Beasts and Children."

The 4-H Purple Ribbon Auction brought in a record-breaking $440,000 to benefit 4-H programs.

In open class livestock competitions, supreme champion titles were awarded to the best grand champions out of all beef and dairy breeds. Supreme Champion Dairy Female went to a Jersey exhibited by Tom and Kelli Cull of Lomira, Wisc. A Limousin exhibited by Rooney Limousin of Maxwell, Iowa was awarded Supreme Champion Beef Female. Matt Purfeerst of Faribault exhibited the Angus 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 Jared Seinola of St. Charles. Dustin Compart of Nicollet took the Supreme Swine Champion Breeding Female award.

Draft Horse Supreme Halter Champion Stallion, Mare and Gelding were honored again in 2012. Supreme Stallion went to a Percheron exhibited by Robert Detweiler of Oelwein, Iowa. Supreme Mare was awarded to a Percheron shown by David Anderson of Ontario, Canada. A Percheron exhibited by Harold and David Schumacher of Plainview was awarded Supreme Gelding.

The Douglas K. Baldwin Award for FFA?livestock show participation and leadership went to Kirby Schmidt of the Marshall FFA?Chapter.

Christine Reitsma of Sauk Centre was crowned the 59th Princess Kay of the Milky Way and will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for more than 4,000 Minnesota dairy farmers this year.

The award-winning CHS Miracle of Birth Center welcomed dozens of baby chicks and ducklings into the world along with 185 other newborn animals, including 134 piglets, 12 calves, 33 lambs and six goats.

Grandstand attendance was 107,469?(not including Amateur Talent Contest Finals). KISS and Motley Crue; Rascal Flatts with special guests Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge; Journey with special guests Pat Benatar featuring Neil Giraldo, and Loverboy; and Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller with special guest Big K.R.I.T. were sell-outs.

Nearly 10,000 fans cheered on the best amateur talent in the state at the 40th Annual State Fair Amateur Talent Contest Finals Sept. 2 at the Grandstand. Winners were:

Open Division

First place: Aria Stiles of Apple Valley, violin solo, "A Taste of Sarasate"

Second place: Ashley Dubose of St. Paul, vocal solo, "Put Your Records On"

Third place: Rhythm & Swing Dance of St. Paul, "In the Mood"

Teen Division

First place: Kaeli Patchen of Plymouth, vocal solo, "The Lamest Place in the World"

Second place: Fanaka Ndege of Elk River, rap and dance performance, "Hypnotized"

Third place: Derrick Holleman of Brooklyn Park, guitar solo, "Blues Backing Track in 'A Minor'"

Preteen Division

First place: Selena Brills of Blaine, vocal solo, "Something's Got A Hold On Me"

Second place: Alaina Jane Wolff of Jackson, vocal and guitar solo, "Perfect"

Third place: Grace Nollett of Blaine, vocal solo, "Put Your Records On"

Kim Robinson of Bloomington and Nathan Campeau of Minneapolis were the overall female and male 5K Milk Run winners with times of 17:52 and 17:32, respectively.

The 2012 Outstanding Senior Citizen Awards were presented to Annette Perry of New Ulm in Brown County and Darryl Hill of Owatonna in Steele County. A ceremony was held at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell on Thursday, Aug. 30 to honor 77 seniors representing 47 Minnesota counties.

The State Fair People's Choice Awards were new in 2012 with the goal of recognizing outstanding vendors, while allowing guests to determine the best of the best. During the first six days of the State Fair, visitors were invited to cast ballots at any information booth for their fair favorites in six categories. Winners were:

Best Food or Beverage: Turkey To Go Sandwich – Minnesota Turkey Growers Association

Best Food or Beverage Value: All-You-Can-Drink Milk – Midwest Dairy Association

Best Customer Experience at a Food or Beverage Vendor: Giggles' Campfire Grill

Best Non-Food Product or Service: Giant Slide

Best Non-Food Product or Service Value: ZRS Fossils & Gifts

Best Customer Experience at a Non-Food Vendor: Fair Do's

New additions to this year's State Fair included: the Luminarium, a monumental inflatable sculpture with 11,000 square feet of extensive tunnels and soaring domes; Lasertainment's Laser Hitz Show, a high-powered laser beam attraction choreographed to hit music; the Great Big Sandbox, a new place for kids to get creative at the fair; skateboard and BMX bike lessons at 3rd Lair Skatepark; the World of Wonders Palace of Illusions with nostalgic sideshow entertainment; the Minnesota High School Rodeo Cutting Horse Competition; AgStar Arena, the fair's newest venue for open class, 4-H and FFA livestock competitions and judging; '12 '12 '12, an exhibit at the Fine Arts Center that allowed fairgoers an up-close look at how a working artist creates an art object; Military Appreciation Day's Welcome Home Celebration; and the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Exhibit where guests could learn more about brewing in Minnesota and taste craft beers from the Northstar State.

The 2012 fair featured 40 new foods, including Alere's Featured Salads, bacon ice cream, beef tongue and eggplant caramelos, breakfast sliders, camel burger sliders, Cereal Killer Ice Cream, cheeseburger and spaghetti sticks, chicken nachos on-a-stick, chocolate peanut butter cup fudge puppies, the classic walleye roll, cranberry wontons, Duke's Poutine, eggplant fries, the French Dog, gluten-free hot dogs, gluten-free risotto poppers, Great Balls of Fire, a grilled wild Alaskan salmon sandwich, hibiscus iced tea, lamb chop on-a-stick, lamb fries, mashed sweet potatoes on-a-stick, Ole's Cannolis, the Paul Bunyan Bar, Ragin' Ankles, the red velvet funnel cake, scones with sausage gravy, sushi, Belgian street waffles, and the Yosemite SAMwich. In total, vendors served up nearly 500 different types of food, 70+ of which were on-a-stick.

The 2013 Minnesota State Fair will run Aug. 22 through Labor Day, Sept. 2.

For more information, visit mnstatefair.org or email fairinfo@mnstatefair.org.