Aug. 27 – Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2026
336 Days 15 Hours 34 Mins
The 2025 Minnesota State Fair brought people together from across the state of Minnesota to celebrate. This year’s cumulative total attendance total was 1,940,869, making it the fifth best-attended fair ever!
“As the 2025 Minnesota State Fair has come to a close, we pause to remember the tragedy at Annunciation school and the devastating loss of others in our community who were victims of violence. Even in the shadow of heartbreak, the fair showed its true purpose: bringing Minnesotans together. Over the 12 days, the weather created a beautiful backdrop for people to share traditions, discover new favorites, and celebrate the spirit of our state. We’re grateful to guests, vendors, exhibitors, volunteers, performers, safety and security professionals and staff members who helped make this year’s fair a place of joy, connection and belonging. Together, we proved once again why the Great Minnesota Get-Together is more than a fair — it’s a reflection of who we are and what we can be, together.”
– Minnesota State Fair CEO Renee Alexander
The Minnesota State Fair’s agricultural and creative competitions drew more than 35,000 entries this year, with competitors vying for a share of ribbons, trophies and special awards and nearly $2 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.
The State Fair’s Fine Arts Exhibition featured the largest juried art show in Minnesota. The 2025 People’s Choice Award went to “Minnesota MMRI Healing Dress” by Anita Lovelace of Minneapolis, Minn.
Learn more about results in Ag-Hort Bee, Creative Activities and K-12 competitions.
The Purple Ribbon Auction on Saturday, Aug. 23, set eight new record prices and raised more than $1.3 million for the 115 4-H members who participated in the auction. In addition, the auction awarded $130,000 in scholarships to 42 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 Kaylee Steele of Lewiston-Altura FFA.
Malorie Thorson of Waverly, Minn., representing Wright County, was crowned the 72nd Princess Kay of the Milky Way and will serve as the official goodwill ambassador for nearly 1,800 Minnesota dairy farm families this year.
The award-winning CHS Miracle of Birth Center welcomed 142 newborn animals, including 10 calves, 106 piglets and 26 lambs.
Bus transportation to the fair continued to be strong in 2025. Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) set a new State Fair ridership record this year, providing more than 148,000 rides, a 17 percent increase over 2024. This year, MVTA moved up its start time to 7 a.m. (from 8 a.m.) from its transit stations in Eagan, Shakopee and Burnsville. SouthWest Transit, which expanded service in 2025 to include Labor Day, reports that ridership to the fair increased again this year, continuing its trend of year-over-year growth, with final numbers available in the coming weeks. Preliminary reports from Metro Transit and the State Fair’s Park & Ride service also point to strong ridership; data currently is being finalized.
Total attendance for the Grandstand Concert Series, sponsored by Sleep Number, was 95,342 (not including the free MSF Amateur Talent Contest Finals).
Nearly 5,000 fans cheered on the best amateur talent in the state at the MSF Amateur Talent Contest Finals sponsored by Chase held Aug. 31, at the Grandstand. Contestants were competing for nearly $20,000 in prize money. Winners were:
Open Division
Teen Division
Preteen Division
New Additions and Highlights
View the full list of what was new in 2025.
New Foods
The 2025 fair featured 33 Official New Foods sponsored by Mattress Firm:
Afro Bean Pops; Athena’s Whipped Feta; Birthday Cake Cookie Dough On-A-Stick; Bison Meatball Sub; Cannoli Gelato Nachos; Caprese Curds; Cherry Bigfoot Limeade Float; Chicken-Fried Bacon Fries; Cinna-sugar Crust Tidbits; Croffle Cloud; Deep-Fried Tofuego Bites; Dill Pickle Iced Tea; Fawaffle; Flauta Dippers; Freaky Fryday; Grandma Doreen’s Dessert Dog; Green Apple Sucker Ice Cream; Hot Honey Jalapeño Popper Donut; Hot Honey Pizza Ballzz; Hula Kalua Pork; Land of 10,000 Cakes Patisserie Sweets in Two Varieties: Two pastries from Patisserie 46: Apple Glaze and Banana S’more; Pimento Cheese Puffs; Pizza Cheese Curd Tacos; Pot of Gold Potato Dumplings; Shrimp & Pork Toast On-A-Stick; Smashadilla; Somali Street Fries; Sweet Squeakers; Tandoori Chicken Quesaratha; Timber Twists; Triple Chocolate Mini Donuts; and Uncrustaburger.
Eight new food vendors in 2025: Beans & Beignets; Chocolate Strawberry Cup; Greater Tater; Lumpia City; Magdalena’s Chimney Cakes; Midtown Global Market’s Irie Jamaican (Aug. 27 to Sept. 1) and Oasis Grill & Hoyo Sambusa (Aug. 21-26); and Urban Glow Mocktails.
Learn more about 2025’s Official New Foods.
The State Fair’s 2025 Best Awards recognized outstanding vendors, attractions and commercial exhibits.
The 2026 Minnesota State Fair is Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
