Welcome to the Minnesota State Fair! Each year, over 1.7 million people flock to the Great Minnesota Get Together.
Into farm life? There are plenty of cows, sheep, goats, and baby animals to pet at the fair. There are even some llamas!
Or if birds are more your thing, there are some prize cockerels, roosters, turkeys, and ducks around, too.
There are TVs set up around the CHS Miracle of Birth Center to watch farm animals — wait for it — give birth. It's a very popular event.
Everyone was standing by to see a new calf enter the world. Nearly 200 calves, lambs, goats, and piglets are born each year at the fair.
The fair even has its own wi-fi!
Now let's get to the food. The fair is home to the Taco King.
And the "World's Greatest" fries. It takes about 145 tons of potatoes to make all the french fries Minnesotans consume each year.
It also has the best chocolate chip cookies on the planet — Sweet Martha's cookies.
Seriously, these are the best. You can get an overflowing bucket full of them.
Wash it all down with $1 all-you-can-drink milk. Minnesotans drink 25,000 gallons of milk (chocolate or plain) each year at the fair.
There are plenty of gigantic, fried pickles to choose from, too.
Or just regular, ol' fashioned gigantic pickles.
There are lots of bizarre foods to try, like the smoking Comet Corn that tasted suspiciously similar to frozen Cap'n Crunch.
Or a jumbo turkey leg the size of someone's face.
There are tons of foods on a stick — over 70 kinds in all. The "hotdish" on a stick was an entire meal on a skewer, deep-fried.
Pronto Pups are one of the historic food trucks at the fair. It's estimated 500,000 corn dogs are consumed each year during the fair, on a stick, of course.
You can also just eat an entire ear of corn, like these fair goers.
Just make sure to recycle! The Minnesota State Fair is very green.
Don't forget dessert. We recommend the deep-fried candy bars on a stick.
Yum. Each one is over 500 calories.
It can get pretty hot at the fair, so look out for these mist-sprayers staggered throughout the streets.
Down on Midway, fair-goers ride the rides and win some epic prizes. There are over 300 rides and attractions here alone.
One of the most popular rides is the Ye Olde Mill — a popular spot for couples. It's been a romantic part of the fair for 100 years.
Take a ride above the revelers over the fair grounds and rest your weary feet.
And learn about Minnesota's Constitution Party.
And watch the reigning Princess Kay of the Milky Way have her face sculpted out of butter. As the goodwill ambassador for MN's dairy industry, she's given her 90-pound butter bust and required to eat it.
Don't forget to buy a weird souvenir so you can remember your experience.
Couldn't get enough of the food?
