Stepping outside my comfort zone

A couple months back, I decided to take a step outside my comfort zone: I signed up to volunteer at the Education Minnesota booth at the Minnesota State Fair.

 

You see, I have long harbored a deep dark secret: I had never before attended the state fair. Perhaps you remember my jokes about how Ben Revermann’s children would not be permitted to get Minnesota driver licenses if they had never been to the headwaters of the Mississippi.

 

It may be you are now thinking of me as a gigantic hypocrite–after all, many view the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” as a fundamental part of being a Minnesotan.

 

Fortunately I can now keep my driver license: I have been. I have seen. I have eaten a food served on a stick.

 

I went on Sunday, August 30–perhaps the worst possible day to choose, given the temperatures near 90, the high humidity, and what I hear was a record crowd. Because I was going to be spending three of my hours at the fair handing out pencils and sharing information about the teachers’ union with passersby, I went by myself, not wanting to burden anyone with the wait.

 

Probably the worst part of my day was arriving.

 

You see, I am not a totally altruistic individual. I volunteered to be in the booth because it came with a couple of perks: admission to the fair, a shirt to wear in the booth (and then keep, obviously), and reimbursement for parking costs.

 

Knowing the forecast was for a hot day, and that the fairgrounds can be very crowded, I came up with what I thought was a very practical plan.  Online information shared a list of places people can park for free, then get on a free bus to be transported to the fairgrounds. I chose the “maroon” lot at the University of Minnesota because it was specified that passengers from there  would be dropped off at gate 5–half a block from the “Education Building” where the Education Minnesota booth is located.

 

Well and good–until I arrived at the University of Minnesota campus and passed five parking lots in quick succession, each with a sign that said “Lot Full. Closed.”

 

I pulled into a quiet cul-de-sac to regroup. Even all the streets leading to that quiet little backwater space were parked end-to-end with cars. The only spot I could stay still for a few moments was right next to a fire hydrant.

 

I decided I had little choice but to head toward the fairgrounds and hope there would be a spot in one of the pay-to-park lots. Thanks to the navigation app on my cell phone, I arrived in the vicinity. The very first lot I came to still had a few spots, so I paid the necessary $25, pulled into a tight little space, and locked my car.

 

I was now about a block away from gate 14–the entry point farthest from my destination. I set out to find my way and, after a number of wrong turns, arrived at the Education Building. Between being red-faced with the heat and glad to have finally found it, I must say I have seldom been happier to reach a destination.

 

If the story had ended there, this column might be proclaiming that August 30, 2026, is the one and only time I will ever have attended the state fair.

 

But by the time my 3 to 6 p.m. volunteer shift ended, the temperature had dropped considerably. From the beginning, I had planned a journey on the “Sky-Ride,” some gondolas which ride on cables probably 50 or so feet above the ground. And of course I felt my sojourn would be incomplete if I didn’t have some fair food–although not much, my cheapskate nature rebels at the idea of paying fair prices.

 

I greatly enjoyed the sky ride, which cost $12 for a round trip to the north end of the park and back. I took a fair number of pictures and appreciated being above all those people who made walking like finding one’s way through a maze.

 

I got a pickle on a stick and a “dog burger,” which despite a name that made me think of a hot dog covered in hamburger toppings, turned out to be mostly just a bratwurst.

 

When I sat down to eat, I asked for an open space at one end of an occupied picnic table. By coincidence, I had sat down next to four young educators and ended up having a very pleasant conversation–one I now regard as a highlight of my very interesting day.

 

With the cooler temperatures–by now it was about 7 p,m,--it was far more amiable to wander around a bit. I was delighted when I came across the booths I had written a news piece about from the Waseca County Fair–Strawberries-N-Creme and Loon Lake Iced Tea.

 

Arriving back at my car seemed to take forever, but I saw some worthwhile things along the way, so I was okay with it.

 

Thanks to my experiences as I left the fair, I am now open to a return visit, though not any more this year, thank you.