There’s always something new to see and do at The Great Minnesota Get Together.

The annual press release that unveils the “new food” that will be available at the fair has become a statewide story that no media outlet wants to leave unmentioned. The north side of the the fairgrounds has been transformed from “machinery hill” into a much more visited and much more entertaining neighborhood. “If you build it, they will come”. And folks keep coming in record breaking numbers.

That being said, I’d also like to point out out the charms of all that’s old at the fair.

That “nostalgic tickle” is very much a part of what keeps the crowds coming.

Take, for example……Ye Old Mill, the fair’s oldest attraction.  It’s billed as “the original tunnel of love” and for 104 years it’s been a state fair mainstay.  You probable rode this ride when you were a kid and perhaps your grandparents or even your great grandparents held hands while floating through the darkened passages of “The Mill”.  It’s just nice to know that it’s still there.

We made our annual trek through the fair on Thursday, the 30th.  We’ll be back next year for a look at and a taste of all that’s new. And yes, we’ll be back because of all of those sights and sounds that we remember from those bygone days when mom and dad first brought us to the fair.