Aug. 26 – Labor Day, Sept. 6, 2027
351 Days 5 Hours 3 Mins
The 2026 Minnesota State Fair, which ran Aug. 27 through Sept. 7, brought people together from across the state of Minnesota and beyond. Labor Day attendance of 159,101 brought this year’s cumulative total to 1,923,325. Final confirmed daily attendance numbers are on our attendance page.
"Each year, I’m reminded that what makes the Minnesota State Fair so special is the people. For 12 days, we bring people together to celebrate the full spirit of Minnesota," said Minnesota State Fair CEO Renee Alexander. "I’m incredibly proud of our team and grateful to the thousands of employees, exhibitors, vendors, performers, partners and volunteers who pour so much into making the fair happen year after year. Most of all, I’m grateful to our fair guests. Once again, the enthusiasm, pride, traditions and love for the Great Minnesota Get-Together made the fair come to life."
The Minnesota State Fair’s agricultural and creative competitions drew more than 38,000 entries this year, with competitors vying for a share of ribbons, trophies and special awards and nearly $2.5 million in prize money. Competitions included events for livestock, horses, school projects, dog trials, baked and canned goods, fruit, vegetables, crafts, bee and honey products, fine arts, farm crops, flowers, butter, cheese and more. Participation in Minnesota State Fair competitions continues to grow. For example the Crop Art Exhibit displayed 593 pieces compared to 450 in 2025. Baked goods had 4,141 entries this year compared to last year’s 3,156.
The State Fair’s Fine Arts Exhibition featured the largest juried art show in Minnesota. Artists submitted 3,185 pieces to be considered, and 343 were accepted for this year’s exhibit. Work accepted can be listed for sale by the exhibitor, and this year a record number of 121 pieces were sold. The 2026 People’s Choice Award went to "The Lee A. Tregurtha (1942) Enters the Icy Duluth, Minn. Harbor" by Nathan Klok of Burnsville, Minn.
Click here for competition results in Ag-Hort Bee, Creative Activities and K-12 competitions.
Several livestock competitions, such as open class dairy goats and open class llamas, filled their barns to capacity. FFA youth participation continued to grow in shows like rabbits where the number of competitors doubled from 2025 and sheep with 150 more head entered than last year. Judges remarked on the high quality of the livestock exhibits at the Minnesota State Fair, and many of the champions will go on to compete at other prestigious shows around the country.
The Purple Ribbon Auction on Saturday, Aug. 29, set six new record prices and raised more than $1.35 million for the 115 4-H members who participated in the auction. In addition, the auction awarded $130,000 in scholarships to 44 4-H youth participants.
In open class livestock competitions, supreme champion titles were awarded to the best grand champions out of all beef cattle, dairy cattle, boer goats, dairy goats, breeding sheep and swine grand champions and were exhibited by:
FFA Supreme Champion honors were also awarded:
Supreme and Signature winners in the Minnesota State Fair Horse Show were:
The Douglas K. Baldwin Award for FFA livestock show participation and leadership went to Julia Patterson, Kenyon-Wanamingo FFA.
Jena Hanson of Owatonna, Minn., representing Steele County, was crowned the 73rd Princess Kay of the Milky Way and will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 1,500 Minnesota dairy farm families this year.
The award-winning CHS Miracle of Birth Center, which celebrated 25 years this year, welcomed 160 newborn animals, including 10 calves, 125 piglets and 25 lambs.
Bus transportation to the fair continued to be strong in 2026. Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) had another record-breaking year of service to the Minnesota State Fair. Based on preliminary data, MVTA estimates it provided nearly 155,000 rides from the south metro, an increase of approximately 4.2 percent over 2025. SouthWest Transit reported another ridership record for the second year in a row with 120,158 rides in 2026. Preliminary reports from Metro Transit and the State Fair's Park & Ride service also point to strong ridership; data currently is being finalized.
The Minnesota State Fair continues to generate strong engagement across digital platforms, with robust app usage and growing social media activity extending its reach well beyond the event itself. Over the 12 days, nearly 188,000 active users of the Official MN State Fair App generated more than 907,000 app visits and nearly 19 million page views. Followers of the State Fair’s popular social media platforms grew to 947,518.
Total Grandstand Concert Series sponsored by Sleep Number attendance was 102,680. The lineup included Bonnie Raitt: Live 2026 with special guest Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen (Aug. 27, attendance 12,011 ); “Weird Al” Yankovic: Bigger & Weirder 2026 Tour with special guest Puddles Pity Party (Aug. 28, attendance 14,018 sold out); Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Homecoming: A Celebration of the Minneapolis Sound with special guest performances by Johnny Gill, Bell Biv DeVoe, Morris Day & Jerome Benton of The Time, Jordan Knight from New Kids On The Block, Yolanda Adams, Stokley, Ann Nesby & Sounds of Blackness, Ruben Studdard, Shanice Wilson and Mint Condition (Aug. 29, attendance 6,050); Sierra Ferrell: Heavy Petal Tour - The Current's Music On-A-Stick Show 2026 (Aug. 30, attendance 8,645); Tommy James & The Shondells and Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone (Aug. 31, attendance 5,730); Hairball with special guest Slave Raider (Sept. 1, free with fair admission, attendance 7,599); AJR with special guest Avery Cochrane (Sept. 2, attendance 7,533); Brad Paisley with special guests Jake Worthington and Laci Kaye Booth (Sept. 3, attendance 7,113); HARDY with special guest McCoy Moore (Sept. 4, attendance 9,335); TLC and Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue – IT’S ICONIC (Sept. 5, attendance 14,018 sold out); MSF Amateur Talent Contest Finals (Sept. 6, free with fair admission, attendance 6,000); and CeCe Winans – More Than This World Tour (Sept. 7, attendance 4,628).
Six thousand fans cheered on the best amateur talent in the state at the MSF Amateur Talent Contest Finals sponsored by Chase held Sept. 6, at the Grandstand. Contestants competed for nearly $20,000 in prize money. Winners were:
Open Division
Teen Division
Preteen Division
New additions and highlights for 2026 included: Minnesota State Fair Featured Design available on merchandise at the State FairWear gift shops; The America Wheel honoring America250 – the world’s largest traveling observation wheel; Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit presented by the Science Museum of Minnesota at the North End Event Center; Films at the Fair presented by Square Lake Film & Music – five nights of Minnesota-made short films and animation at the Pet Pavilions Aug. 28-29 and Sept. 4-6; Cultural Destinations Day at Dan Patch Park; 75 years of the Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum: A Historic Renovation; several displays across the fairgrounds commemorating America’s 250th; different fair celebrations from Fairchild’s 60th birthday to Eco Experience celebrating 20 years to the Tilt-A-Whirl turning 100; two new Midway rides and two new Kidway rides; accessibility and experience enhancements (more pre-recorded audio descriptions, expanded capacity and new bike racks, additional lighting at North End, two new adult-size changing tables in the Coliseum and others); phase one of the 4-H Building renovation; new competition and themes; additional historical, concessions and exhibit updates; and more.
The State Fair’s 2026 Best Awards recognized 12 outstanding vendors, attractions and commercial exhibits. Winners were: The America Wheel honoring America250, Big Dog Corndogs, Break a Plate, Cowboy Santa, Faithful Contracting, iPierogi, Lady Bugs, Origami by Kannika, Peachey’s Baking Company, The Starship, The Straub Store and Strawberries ‘N Creme & Loon Lake Iced Tea.
The 2026 fair featured 36 Official New Foods sponsored by Mattress Firm: Pickle Pie; Cracklin' Corn Ribs; Longanisa Cheese Curd Lumpia; French Chouxnut Sundae; Korean BBQ Bao Buns; Surf 'N' Turf Burger; Butter Brew Mustache Pretzel; Bao Belly; Blue Moon Crunch; Shakshuka Lamb Meatballs; Dubai Whoopie Pie; Chorizo Manchego Croquettes; Honey Brisket Battered Potatoes; Hmong Corndog; Tacos de Mole; Jamaican Jerk Chicken Loaded Fries; When Pigs Fly; The Fried and the Furious: Cubano Drift; Strawberry Ube Sundae Tart; Peri-Peri Bowl; Sligo Slider Bites On-A-Stick; Brandy Old Fashioned Cookie Dough; Apple Donut Ham Grinder; Banana Butterscotch Barnraiser; Bucket of Chicharrones; Sweet Peach Lemonade Sparkler; Elote Tots; Caramel Apple Iced Tea; Strawberries & Blueberry Creme Parfait; Dockside Poppers; Mango Sticky Rice Refresher; Strawberry Crunch Mini Donuts; Pumpkin Bar Funnel Cake; Dill with it, Cookie!; and Two-Tone Bloody Mary Mocktail.
Ten new food vendors included: dodopop; Iemochi Japanese Confections; Jive Turkey BBQ; Midtown Global Market's El Taco Torro (Sept. 2 through Sept. 7 only); Minnesota's Original Apple Fries; Roon’s Savories; Saturday Dumpling Co.; Solem's French Fries; Funnel Cakes and Elephant Ears; and Summer Lakes Boat House.
