American Svenska Instituten, Marching bands, Unicorns, and Butterheads

I am the product of two mixed marriages. My grandmother was Norwegian and my grandfather was Swedish. My mother was Norwegian, my father 1/2 and 1/2. However, I do claim the Svenska side of my heritage enthusiastically, mostly because there seems to be more of them around and I think the flag is prettier. So when I was in Minneapolis, I stopped in at the American Swedish Institute, pictured above.

What is now the Institute was once a home built by Swan J. Turnblad, publisher of the Svenska Americanska Posten, a Swedish language newspaper that enjoyed a large circulation as evidenced by the opulence of the above structure. Clearly, this is from another, long ago time when publishers actually made a lot of money. The building is just as opulent inside, which makes me wonder about his heritage, simply because most of the Scandos I know are pretty self-effacing and oh, don't need anything like that, now, donchaknow. Despite my doubts about whether this guy was really a Swede or just knew the language, it's a cool place that is a cultural center and museum as well. Currently, the art exhibits are "My Paradise" and "With a View of the Water," photos of second homes along with scale models. The photo below is from the "With a View of The Water" exhibit. (Emerson residence and sauna at Cook Lake, Duluth, MN photo by Peter Bastianelli-Kerze from www.americanswedishinst.com)

I feel as though I have done a disservice to the Minnesota State Fair by depicting it as a food orgy. Although there is that, the fair has a little more to it than Pronto Pups and Tom Thumb donuts. So. Here’s a little bit of a history lesson.

While the territory established the Territorial Agricultural Society in 1854, Minnesota did not gain statehood until 1858 and held its first state fair in 1859 in what is now downtown Minneapolis. After being held in multiple locations (Red Wing, Rochester, St. Paul, Winona, Owatonna), the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners donated their 210-acre poor farm, providing a permanent home to the fair. The grounds are now 320 acres and boast historically significant buildings as well as facilities constructed by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s WPA project.

Although the MSF was first founded as a way to promote agriculture in the state, exhibits and activities have expanded over the past 150 years. Yes, livestock and ag is still a huge part of the fair; combined premiums for livestock run in excess of half a million dollars. The fair also schedules twelve days of top-notch grandstand acts. This year the BoDeans and Big Head Todd and the Monsters opened the fair. Rush, Tim McGraw, Seether, Brandi Carlile, Carrie Underwood, KISS, A Prairie Home Companion and the Dukes of September Rhythm Review (including Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs) filled out the schedule.

Every day at 2 p.m. there is a parade through the grounds that includes everything from art cars to visiting pageant royalty to unicorns. The Saturday we attended, I was minding my own business at the Twin Territory booth, looking for an appropriate souvenir t-shirt, complaining bitterly to myself about the lack of selection, when I heard the Minnesota Fight Song – Minnesota, hats of to thee!  A marching band led the way for Santa Claus, Smokey the Bear and others. My favorite was the gigantic Angus steer in the last post, but there are others below, including the art car with trout (or bass?) and lobsters animated to move in sync with Handel’s "Hallelujah Chorus." Personally, I think the lobsters had it all over the trout, but maybe it’s because they got to do the hallelujahs.

Yes, Virginia, there really are unicorns.

Good ol' George Fridrich is spinning in his grave.

Oh - again, going back to the agricultural roots of the fair ... Every year, there is a competition for dairy princess sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association. Contestants are selected at the county level, then advance to the state competition. This year, 19-year-old Katie Miron was crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way. Her first duty as Princess is to sit for eight hours on a rotating platform in this refrigerated chamber and have her likeness carved out of a ninety pound block of butter. Then she'll go on to reign for a year, promoting the dairy industry. Each contestant is judged on her communication skills, general knowledge of the dairy industry, willingness to promote the industry, and personality. All twelve contestants were blonde and plump with sunny dispositions.

Next, on to Kansas City.