We thank you, Minnesota, for making the 2011 State Fair so memorable! For twelve days of fun we welcomed more than 1,776,000 people. Please check back later for updated information on next year's Great Minnesota Get-Together. Hope to see you at the 2012 State Fair, to be held Aug. 23-Labor Day, Sept. 3!

FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET

A Fabulous Fair Alphabet: The Game

Pick up a Fabulous Fair Alphabet game card from any State Fair Information Booth or download one here.  Look for words in what you SEE, HEAR, READ, FEEL - and certainly in what you EAT - at the fair! Write these words on the card, recording two words for each letter of the alphabet. (For example: Write a word that begins with “A” beside the printed A. Remember that X’s are rare - simply look for words that contain an X.) Bring your completed card to the Alphabet Forest in Baldwin Park and win a blue ribbon!

Alphabet Forest Activites

Baldwin Park, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Step inside the Alphabet Forest and discover alphabet activities for all ages.  Take pictures with Fair Letters, create alphabet Ferris wheels, add your fair words to the Fair Dictionary and more!  New this year, guests can meet a different author each day in the Alphabet Forest at the Minnesota’s Homegrown Author Showcase.  Activities are brought to you by Target, the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, Debra Frasier, MELSA Metro Public Libraries and the Children’s Literature Network.

Minnesota’s Homegrown Author Schedule

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Aug. 25: Mike Wohnoutka
Aug. 26: Debra Frasier
Aug. 27: Mary Casanova
Aug. 28: Marsha Wilson Chall
Aug. 29: Jill Kalz
Aug. 30: Lisa Bullard
Aug. 31: Catherine Friend
Sept. 1: David LaRochelle
Sept. 2: Catherine Thimmesh
Sept. 3: Lauren Stringer
Sept. 4: David Geister and Patricia Anne Bauer
Sept. 5: Catherine Urdahl

Various titles will be available for sale in the Alphabet Forest.

Fabulous Fair Alphabet: The Book

Debra Frasier’s book A Fabulous Fair Alphabet (Beach Lane Books, Simon & Schuster, June 2010) got its start as a collection of photographs taken by the Minneapolis author/illustrator on her almost-daily visits to the Minnesota State Fair. Now her tribute to the “Great Minnesota Get-Together” has gone national, with the New York Times noting that “Frasier brings to life a jaunty Ferris wheel, a sunburst-yellow pitcher of lemonade and a swirling roller coaster,” and the Washington Post suggesting “Maybe crowds, junk food and heart-stopping rides are more your style. Dip into A Fabulous Fair Alphabet, by Debra Frasier, for a sneak peek.”

Books are available at all State FairWear Gift Shops.

DOWNLOADABLES:

The downloadables can be viewed and printed using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or higher. If you do not have Acrobat Reader or have an older version, you may download the most current Acrobat Reader by clicking here.

Links go “live” as materials become available: