A Letter from Mrs. Mika Pease
Minnesota State Fair
America's largest festival - not found in the guide books!
Mika Pease
Each American state holds its state fair once a year. The tradition dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century, when the aim of the fair was to promote competition between agriculture and livestock producers. Today, the fair continues to hold contests, not only for livestock like horses, cattle, pigs and goats, but also for fruit and vegetables, cheese, jam and so on. In addition, as the state's largest event the fair is packed with traveling carnivals, concerts, numerous food stalls and companies' promotional booths. In the states where agriculture and livestock production flourishes, the state fairs have grown considerably from their origins.
Minnesota prides itself on having the greatest state fair in the United States. Although farmers constitute only a few percent of the state's population, the sales figures for Minnesotan agricultural produce are the highest in the country. The state fair is held from the end of August to the beginning of September, and every day there are around two million visitors! It clearly deserves the title of 'America's largest festival.'
The fair is held halfway between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the state's two largest cities, which are known as the 'Twin Cities.' The fairground is 28 times as large as the Tokyo Dome. It really seems like a small town, and it is too huge for someone to see everything in one day.
Today the state fair contains many elements unrelated to its origins as a
country fair and produce competition, but the main focus is still animals. The
fair is not just an opportunity for visitors to see animals but also to
experience milking cows, watching horse shows, seeing operations by vets, and
most of all, to see the 'miracle of birth,' when a new animal comes into the
world. The fair offers many valuable experiences for adults and children
alike.At the festival there are also the kinds of food stalls you can also see in Japan. Here and there are booths selling hotdogs and corndogs. At Minnesota's state fair the specialty is food "on a stick!" Some of the mouth-watering food on skewers is strange or unusual, such as huge 20cm-long pickles, or sweets. As well as food stalls, there are larger open-air shops, restaurants and bars. One shop selling freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies always has a long queue and sells around a million dollars' worth of cookies during the fair. You can try all kinds of unusual food, such as 30cm-long giant corndogs, or deep-fried sweets, the taste of which defies description. Simply by wandering around the fair sampling the various local foods on offer, you can enjoy the event, and will get a real sense of the flavors and generous portions of America.
Compared with Japan, Minnesota's summer is dry and refreshing. After a long and harsh winter, August is the most comfortable month of the year, and cheerful people gather at the Minnesota state fair to enjoy summer. Visitors will never forget this uniquely American festival, which is known as the pride of Minnesota.
