Aug 27, 2009 10:42 pm US/Central
Good Question: Why Are We Obsessed With The Fair?
(WCCO)
More than 1.6 million people visit the Minnesota State Fair every year. Twenty-five television and radio stations broadcast live from the fair daily. This is not how other states react to their fairs, so why are some Minnesotans so obsessed with the fair?
"I'm a fair fanatic," said one woman at the fair.
"I've gone 10 years in a row, you just don't miss it," added another.
If you're new to Minnesota, you're probably scratching your head about all of this non-stop, 12-day, State Fairapalooza.
"Our friends who live in Hawaii and Tennessee think we're really silly to come to the fair," said one fairgoer.
Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only states without an official state fair. Everyone else has a fair.
But ask most Minnesotans and they'll echo the thought of this woman who said: "I think this is the best fair in the world."
It's not the biggest state fair in the world. Texas has the most people visiting, approximately 3 million people annually. But the Texas Fair lasts 24 days long. Minnesota's fair is 12 days, Iowa's runs 11.
So Texas averages 125,000 visitors per day. Iowa is around 100,000. And Minnesota averages around 140,000. So some argue that Minnesota has the most paid visitors per day.
Minnesota isn't the largest as far as the property of the fairgrounds is concerned either. That honor goes to Iowa's State Fair, which is 400 acres. However, Iowa's fairgrounds include 120 acres of campgrounds. Minnesota's State Fair is 320 acres.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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