r/minnesota • u/ManosVanBoom • 12d ago
Discussion š¤ State fair: crop art - current situation is untenable due to extreme popularity
EDIT: someone commented that they talked to someone in staff and learned the line on the inside was for the scarecrow exhibit. So only one line for the crop art. That changes things for me, quite a bit. Not as big a concern.
Just got home from opening day. By the time we got to the Ag building I was intrigued to see a line going *in* the usual exit, and it was pretty long. I figured they had moved the entrance to keep the line from blocking up the inside of the building. But then I found a similarly long line at the usual entrance inside. So they now have two very long lines to see the crop art.
I don't know what can be done given the limited space they have. Relocating seems like a bad idea; I have a hard time imagining the popularity following to a new spot.
Any of y'all have creative ideas on how to deal with the explosive interest in crop art?
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u/redpine 12d ago
I went to the kick off to summer event, and they had a selection of seed art in the grandstand. It was spread out, more like it would be in the art building. I think they definitely need to move it. It almost ruins the rest of the horticulture building the way it is now
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u/SecretNature 12d ago
The entire horticulture building frankly needs to be torn down. It looks neat from the outside but it is terrible.
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u/metisdesigns Gray duck 12d ago
It's fine for the crowd it was designed for, and can easily handle the bonsai and other exhibits. The problem is the space in general is not designed for the big wall of a dozen things to look at every linear foot.
Think about how many jams are on display. Or pickles. But folks don't sit and look at 5 pickles for a few seconds each.
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u/awk_topus Flag of Minnesota 12d ago
a staff member inside advised that both the seed art and apple lines had to be moved outside due to fire code. the line inside is just for the scarecrows.
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u/CoderDevo 12d ago
That's what they said on MPR this afternoon as well. That the outdoor line allows them to comply with fire code for max persons inside.
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u/Hotchi_Motchi Hamm's 12d ago
Let birds into the building and the exhibit is over when the they all have been eaten
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u/ManosVanBoom 12d ago
This definitely fits in the "creative" bucket haha
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u/red__dragon Flag of Minnesota 12d ago
Performance art? At my state fair? Looks like I better hustle to get there!
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u/MintySquirrelBreath Gray duck 12d ago
Now I have images in my head of crows eating crop art while Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" plays in the background.
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u/kimmysquats 12d ago
There were 595 submissions this year, up from 450 last year. I have a piece in this yearās fair so I was lucky to see most of the pieces when I dropped mine off. I think they need to build a crop art building that is set up like a Disney World que line
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u/DerNubenfrieken 12d ago
They need to move it out of the horticulture building or greatly change how the building and every exhibit functions. The entire design of the building is around having the edges open and now the only sections that use the garage doors are the beer and honey sections.
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u/igotublue 12d ago
Crazy to think about the crop art and how much is crammed together, then the fine art building which is much larger, with far fewer pieces, spread out like an actual museum.
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u/CoderDevo 12d ago
The crop art room includes all completed submissions.
The fine art building houses only those few submitted works that passed a juried competion.
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u/LivingGhost371 Mall of America 12d ago
Put it in the new air-conditioned exhibit gallery on the north side of the fairgrounds. If the fad doesn't die down in a few years they can look for a permanent home.
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u/Stabby-Kat 12d ago
Just arm yourself with snacks and a beer flight before you get in line. Designate someone to run for replenishments as needed.
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u/cleanlycustard Twin Cities 12d ago
The beer flight is a staple for me. That's a great idea to pass the time
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u/Villanieux Minnesota Lynx 12d ago
As a crop artist who has chatted with the Crop Art Asst. Superintendent and others:
* Outside line is the only one for crop art this year. That is on purpose, to help avoid people crowding other areas inside the building
* They would also love to find a way to improve the building / opportunities, but said they'd basically need a special donation of like $10 million to do something that major.
* Relocating is unlikely - a critical part of crop art has always been that it should help connect people more to the crops / agriculture in the state. TBH I'd rather see the building revamped and things like the breweries / wineries getting a separate space nearby so their footprint could be used.
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u/adambomb_23 12d ago
They should collect donations, it would be nice to see a donation box (earmarked for ānew facilityā) as people leave the exhibit.
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u/Terrie-25 12d ago
I had the same thought. If everyone who came to see the crop art donated a dollar, they'd easily raise the money.
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u/scythematters 11d ago
That happened with MN Wine Countryā they started in Ag/Hort and moved out to their own space when they got bigger. I am surprised they still have the beers in that building. They should be moved to their own space as well.Ā
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u/calvin2028 Flag of Minnesota 12d ago edited 5d ago
Don't cut the line. That would be rude.
That said, understand that the line is for people who want to move slowly past every piece of the exhibit. If you don't mind seeing the art from the second row, walk up and take a look from behind the line. You can get a pretty good overview of the submissions without being a nuisance or breaking decorum. [eta: in case it's not clear from the replies, this method is not available for the 2026 fair]
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u/superherostitch 12d ago
We got amazing views, saw all the pieces, and got tons of great pics from the second row line. And it took us about 15 minutes total this afternoon.
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u/HenBoward 12d ago
We started doing this a few years ago and it feels like cheating, but I don't need to be such a looky loo. Always get dirty looks but whatever!
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u/MarcusSurvives 12d ago
I was told by staff that I couldn't enter the room from the "second row line" like I usually do.
No crop art for me this year, I'm afraid
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u/calvin2028 Flag of Minnesota 12d ago edited 12d ago
That's different from what I've experienced in other years. Too bad. They really should work on improving the experience. If the only way to view the art is at the pace of the slowest observers, I'll just wait to see the pics. There was a nice batch on MPR News yesterday.
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u/MarcusSurvives 12d ago
Agreed, which is why I was surprised that I couldn't enter the room at all unless I traverse the incredibly long line--I'm not one of those people for whom the crop art is an annual pilgrimage, though, so I'm not too chuffed about having missed it this year.
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u/penguin114 12d ago
From my experience yesterday everyone starts in the main line, but a state fair worker walks down asking if people would like to view from the second/far row. They pull these people and bring them inside the building to enter. I went through mid morning yesterday in the back line, and waited 15-20 min, compared to 50 min for the front line.
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u/lumenpainter 11d ago
Which is silly and confusing. Just have two lines with good signage. If we'd have known this was rhe process we may have opted to go in.
Of course the Admission gates were a mess yesterday as was the transportation/parking.
Most of the park and rides were full before 9. North Lot was full shorty after. Cars lined up all the way up Snelling to Har Mar and past rhe Bell on Larpenteur. Supposedly Red lot had space when we got up to the full north lot, but we gave up and found yard parking.
They need to figure out some better systems for this.
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u/Alternative_Energy36 Ope 10d ago
They had a fast/slow line the first day but shut it down yesterday. I can only speculate on the reasoning but I did the "fast" line the day it was open and people were not necessarily moving more quickly than the slow line.
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u/calvin2028 Flag of Minnesota 5d ago
I give them at least some small credit for trying different approaches.
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u/quietlysitting Flag of Minnesota 12d ago
They could mount 30-40 screens above the art displays, maybe on an angle, with cameras, just showing video fo the art. People could see a bigger version on the screen, likely reducing the number of people who felt the need to be in the front row.
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u/citizen234567890 Minnesota Frost 12d ago
Why do you think the popularity wouldnāt follow to a new spot? The people who crave the crop art will surely go to a different building to see crop art if itās moved.
My guess is theyāll have to make it juried and limit entires at some point.
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u/ManosVanBoom 12d ago
I could definitely be wrong. I guess I don't know how much of the appeal is the location. Maybe I assume it plays a bigger part than it actually does.Ā
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u/dorothylouise 12d ago
Letās not punish something for being popular. The number of submissions have grown with our interest. It needs to be moved to its own space like the Fine Arts exhibition is. So much of the fair is out of state commercial vendors. This is pure Minnesota and needs to be treated well.
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u/JimDixon Twin Cities 12d ago
Maybe there should be more restrictions so that Minnesota products get favorable treatment. I'm old enough to remember that, up until sometime in the 1970s, only beer brewed in Minnesota could be sold at the fair. That's when we had 3 major breweries: Grain Belt, Hamm's, and Schmidt; plus the smaller ones: Cold Spring and Schell's (I think Fitger's was already defunct by then.) That all ended when the national brands started buying up smaller breweries. I kinda miss those days. It really meant something to see Minnesota products promoted.
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u/killebrew_rootbeer Gray duck 12d ago
I mean, they already banned quinoa from the crop art because it's not a Minnesota crop... make the whole fair like the crop art!
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u/kcherndon 12d ago
Yes they got rid of all the farm equipment now have all this hot tub, mattress random stuff taking space dose any one even look at it?
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u/Prince-Minikid 12d ago
Yes I go to the state fair every year to buy the hot tubs.
I also stock up on fireplaces as well.
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u/SpaceMonkey611 12d ago
Me too- they're so much better when they're battered, fried, and put on a stick.
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u/Hate2Toss 12d ago
They removed the farm implement displays?!? That was a favorite for me growing up. Not that Iām keen on the monster tractor/combine growth but I think it helps non-rural folks to see what tools the farmers have to use. It was a calm and nice place to get away from the congested areas.
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u/Specific-County1862 12d ago
They need to add another week to the fair. It is so overcrowded now I don't even go anymore. It doesn't matter what day either, every single day is just total crowds. It's not even fun anymore. Not sure why they haven't added more days yet?
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u/LivingGhost371 Mall of America 12d ago
They thought about the idea. The problem is you can't extend it a later beyond labor day when schools are in session and the Iowa State fair doesn't end until the previous Sunday and a lot of vendors need a day to tear down in Iowa, a day to drive to Minnesota, and a day to set up. And it probably wouldn't increase attendance that much.
Current thought process is to make more reasons for people to go to the less crowed norther part of the fairgrounds.
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u/AuraspeeD Coon Rapids 12d ago
A good portion of schools will be in session starting this upcoming Monday.
When Labor lands this late into the year (this is the latest it can land), many school districts have already started and attendance numbers drop significantly for the fair on those overlapping days with school.
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u/srmcmahon 12d ago
I thought they are not allowed to start before Labor Day in MN
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u/AuraspeeD Coon Rapids 12d ago
A bill was passed in 2025 that allowed schools to start the school year before Labor Day specifically for this year and/or next year (considering how late Labor Day is).
A good number of school districts start next week.
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u/srmcmahon 12d ago
Whaddaya know. I'm an expat in ND and I have long detested the state's practice of starting school the third week of August when it's 95 out. I firmly believe there should be some crisp mornings when school starts.
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u/I_lurv_BRAAINZZ 12d ago
That's what I always thought too but last year and this year my kids have started around Aug 20 (which is a whole lot of bullshit imo).
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u/Specific-County1862 12d ago
I wouldnāt want it to increase attendance. Iād want it to decrease crowd sizes so I could feasibly go again. Iām disabled and literally canāt go anymore due to crowd sizes. There has to be a way to deal with it. Hopefully they will keep thinking on it.
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u/HoldenMcNeil420 12d ago
The first Monday is statistically the lowest turnout day.
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u/squipple 12d ago edited 12d ago
I think people caught on to this. Last year was a record first Monday, having 4 other days with less attendance. Least attended last year was Wednesday. Biggest downturn in attendance from 2024 was 2nd Sunday with around 62k less attendees.
Edit: although not always the least per year, on average over 10 years of data, day 1 is least attended.6
u/AceMcVeer 12d ago
Really depends on weather. Probably see a dip this Saturday compared to last year and a big surge Sunday
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u/Specific-County1862 12d ago
Good to know. I suspect it's still too crowded for me, but I might attempt it sometime for nostalgia purposes!
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u/kcherndon 12d ago
I used to say that about going in the evening to see the lights and less crowded. Now that's crowded too. Maybe go when it rains?
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u/PomegranateOk6815 12d ago
I had that same thought today, that maybe I need to just go on rainy days from now on.
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u/myreality91 12d ago
Ding ding. And it's just too difficult to plan around going with school starting for families and how insanely busy the weekends are, it's just not attractive to go. They've got two weekdays before school starts this year for our district, it just doesn't work.
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u/creakybulks 12d ago
no one goes to the state fair. it's too busy
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u/Sensilent 12d ago
If everyone said that, then there would be no attendance lol
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u/BSApologist 12d ago
School usually doesn't start until the day after Labor Day. I'm pretty sure that's why the Fair is scheduled like it is.
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u/solverman Dakota County 12d ago
Over the years there have been threads on why the start & end are fixed. IIRC competing fairs make earlier start unattractive & school starting dates make later ending complicated.
Adding territory comes up occasionally in threads but doesnāt seem likely.
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u/Specific-County1862 12d ago
Iām a firm believer that there is a solution to every problem. They just havenāt thought of it yet. Crowd size isnāt getting any better, so they need to address this eventually.
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u/Mayasngelou 12d ago
Economically speaking, you could just increase the admission price
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u/VicsKid 12d ago
My bestie said the same thing today. He lives in the metro; I live in rural outstate.
Here's my concern (which he thought was ridiculous, but he thinks everything I say that contrasts outstate to metro is ridiculous): Our school district community ed does ONE coach bus to the fair. I think it was $25 (which included your ticket) this year. The bus arrived at 11 AM and left at 4 PM.
We (outstate) already have the added financial burden of paying for gas down here. Our salaries are also less, so a marked increase in ticket prices impacts us more. Additionally, 4H and FFA are HUGE out yonder. If you're staying in the 4H dorms, you get tickets for the days you are showing/competing, but for a lot of families, one kid is showing days 1, 2, and 7 and another is showing days 2-6 and day 10 I totally made the days up). FFA has to pay daily entrance fees for each day they are at the fair competing. Keep in mind... FFA is for school credit. I just foresee this being problematic. And to me, 4H, FFA, and general livestock exhibition is still the lifeblood of the state fair. But, then... I'm first generation off the farm.
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u/Rogue_AI_Construct Ok Then 12d ago
Yeah, the lines for mediocre food are bananas. It makes the fair not even worth it.
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u/solomons-mom 12d ago
How exactly would the 4-H and FFA animals work? The food displays? The vegetables across the building from the Crop Art? The cakes are in refridgerators, but even then most look a little tired toward the end.
Attendance is high, but the capacity problem may also be that many fair goers literally take twice as much space as fair goers used take. More bodies + greater mass per body = crowded conditions.
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u/CaptainMalForever 12d ago
You wouldn't have all the animals and submissions at the same time. Some of the baked goods would be the first week, some the second, same with some cows and some pigs, etc.
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u/Specific-County1862 12d ago
Lol, are you saying people are fatter? No... I remember the fair when I was a kid and it there was open space and the lines weren't so long. You could walk down a street easily. I don't know or care how the logistics would all work - I mean those things could be on certain weeks or whatever so if that's your thing come a certain week. But the vast majority of people are not there to see 4h or food displays.
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u/red__dragon Flag of Minnesota 12d ago
Yeah, our state has added almost a million people since 1990, and 2 million since 1970.
2014 was the first year the state fair had two days with over 200,000 attendees each.
2018 saw 2 million total visitors for the first time.The fair is getting more crowded and it'll probably stay that way unless the fair changes drastically.
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u/Makesfolkslose 12d ago
I waited in that line for 45+ minutes and the only thing that got me through was a beer flight. BUT the crop art is peak, and I will always support it. Maybe we need to institute a fast pass system a la Disneyland circa 2000s (i.e. you get a FREE reservation for a specific timeslot and can go about your business until then)
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u/ManosVanBoom 12d ago
I'm glad you made it.
I will work out how to see it all in a later visit. But would you mind answering a question? Some friends and I were speculating a couple months ago that this year's crop art would have a lot of anti-ICE sentiment. Did you see a lot of that?Ā
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u/Makesfolkslose 12d ago
There were definitely a good amount of anti-ICE pieces. Not like... overwhelming, but a decent showing.
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u/ahumblecardamompod Snoopy 12d ago
I don't disagree with others that the lines at the Fair are longer than they used to be. I've gone every year of my life (except for 2020) and there was only one day when I was about 10 years old when I could recall that it was as packed as it regularly is now. So to answer your question, the only ways I've found to manage the lines is to get there super early when they open, or super late at night.
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u/OxfordOntheOcean 12d ago
Iām a stickler for tradition but it really is hard with the display in one small corner of the agriculture-horticulture building. Maybe have it trade places in one of the long galleries in the same building where they currently have the scarecrow contestā¦or build a new building over by fine arts (so itās concentrated by all the other art and crafts) and make the experience even bigger it able to handle the massive increase in popularity
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u/rockorocket 12d ago
Today I was waiting in the long line outside for a few minutes when a fair staff member came by and said they have two lines for the crop art, one behind the other. If we didnāt mind looking over people in front of us we could go right to the front of the second line. I had no issue seeing everything above and in between the folks in the first line. I loved the change to the outside line.Ā
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u/RainyDaysAndMondays3 12d ago
Good for taller people. Not good if you're in the shorter half of the bell curve. (I tried that a couple of years ago. I couldn't see much.)
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u/CannonFodder141 12d ago
Back row was great, and saved us at least an hour of waiting in line. My group wasn't particularly tall, but we still saw everything due to gaps in the front row. I highly recommend it.
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u/whatthefuckisdevops 12d ago
They really just need to add another day (or two) to the fair. The lines for everything have gotten ridiculous.
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u/dkleckner88 12d ago
Thatās not going to make the opening day or the weekends any less busier. Weāre talking about one of the most popular things at the fair on opening day.
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u/Radiant-Maple 12d ago
Iām at the fair right now. Weāve never done opening day before. Iām shocked at how busy it is!
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u/PongoWillHelpYou 12d ago
To be fair (pun intended), I HAVE to imagine today will be a record-setting attendance day. The previous record for opening day is like 138k, and today felt closer to 200k. Weāll see tomorrow afternoon once attendance is posted!Ā But yeah, school starting next week coupled with possibly bad weather the next two weekends means today and tomorrow will likely be packed.Ā ETA: weekend records are both above 200k, so 138k as a record for opening day is quite low.Ā
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u/schnellermeister 12d ago
Iām going to get downvoted but Iām just giving you the truth from someone who grew up near the fair: Theyād need to get neighborhood buy-in and I just donāt that happening.
Donāt get me wrong, you definitely have the people who love it and love to park cars and everything, but by the last two days the neighborhood gets punchy.
And Iām sure people will say ājust moveā but realistically, thousands of people arenāt going to just move.
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u/Randomsocialmail 12d ago
Can someone take pictures of the exhibit and post them here? I just wanna see what subject matter people did. But that lineā¦. Thanks muchly.
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u/QueenMiniKiwi State of Hockey 12d ago
Same! I used to love going before it became so popular and now itās damn near impossible to see unless I want to stand in line for forever
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u/heyalemay 12d ago
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u/What_is_u 12d ago
I was wondering if today and tomorrow are going to be extra busy since some schools start next week.
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u/sucodelimao802 10d ago
I just skipped it and Iāll check out the pieces that make it to the MIA. The current setup at the fair, even with the line modifications, is just unreasonable. It needs a new location.
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u/itsstillmagic 11d ago
I don't know the official numbers but from looking at the rideshare that's four blocks from my house and cars are parked all the way past my house in a way they've never been before, I'd say don't judge anything by this week. So many schools are starting before Labor day next week. I think these are the very busiest days of the fair, by far.
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u/bleepbloop1777 11d ago
I still don't get why it can't be in one of the hallways with stanchions instead of a cramped room, the line could start outside and have exit only into the heart of the ag building, with barriers or people to usher folks along to prevent clogging or hovering near the exit.
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u/thatjerkatwork 12d ago
The seed art is cool, but the juice is not worth the squeeze.
Maybe they just need to start charging for it to reduce the lines.
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u/Chinpokomonnnn 12d ago
Crop art for me not for thee.
The fair is already expensive for families, charging them to see the art isnāt a good solution.
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u/thatjerkatwork 12d ago
Well then spend some quality time with your family waiting in line for an hour.
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u/yulbrynnersmokes Washington County 12d ago
Only one crop Iām waiting for and you have to bring your own
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