Minnesota State Fair, August 29, 2026 (KFGO News Photo / Nate Coen)
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (KFGO) – The Minnesota State Fair says 11% of its visitors come from areas that are more than 100 miles from the fairgrounds, including the Fargo-Moorhead metro. That means setting aside a budget to cover the cost of gas and admission before heading down for a day of fair fun.
Despite rising costs across the board, nearly 730,000 visitors passed through the gates in the first four days of the Minnesota State Fair. 204,065 people visited the fair on Friday.
“We had a pretty busy first weekend, our opening day and our Friday both were daily attendance records for those days. We always get higher numbers when the weather is nice, obviously people want to be outside when it’s nicer outside.” State Fair Spokeswoman Maria Haden said.
Despite the numbers remaining strong, costs for families at the fair is still a top concern for some visitors, and one the Minnesota State Fair keeps in mind when planning for its visitors. Hayden says there’s one way families can shave off costs when bringing young kids.
“You can bring your own food into the fair, so if you’re travelling with littles and they don’t necessarily need a pronto pup for lunch, they’d be happy with some food from home, that’s always a great option. Or even just to bring some snacks, some drinks from home so that’s always a recommendation I give to families,” Hayden said.
Gas Prices in Bloomington, Minn. August 29, 2026
If costs at the gas pump, or cheese curd stand, eat through the family budget, Hayden says the fair has plenty of entertainment wrapped in with the price of admission.
“Not enough people take advantage of the different things that you don’t have to necessarily spend the whole day buying food or going on rides. There are so many different things. We’ve got Alphabet Forest where you can learn about reading and we’ve got Math on a Stick, we’ve got a dinosaur exhibit in partnership with the Minnesota Science Museum. All of these things are great educational opportunities and provide a lot of value to children and are completely free with fair admission.” Hayden said.
Hayden says another expense visitors can avoid is parking, by using the more than 30 park and ride options available across the Twin Cities metro.
The Minnesota State Fair is happening now, and lasts through Labor Day.
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