Tonight is the Minnesota State Fair Foundation annual fundraiser where we get to have a State Fair preview. Some people think it to be a smorgasbord of ~all~ the new foods this year. That is not the case. Vendors are invited to donate food to the event and many times they will offer a new food they are debuting, but sometimes they provide an old standard. In the past Sweet Martha's was present with cookies, Poncho Dogs offered up the best corn dogs, Dino's was there with Gyros and we got Tom Thumb donuts and Lemonade from the iconic lemonade stand.

Who knows what tonight will bring, but it's the fair …Midway games, rides & food, with an open bar!

Great food, family, friends and fantastic Fair festivities!

Mom & Dad got premium parking and early entry since they know people and Dads not moving as well as he used to, so they got escorted to their table and fed Poncho Dogs before any of us had our plates!

Waiting for the gates to open we snagged a snack at the Green Mill truck to tide us over until entry! It's called a pizza~rito. Cheese, pepperoni, marinara and rice rolled in a burrito and deep fried. Yum!

It's the only thing I went back to for more.

Once in the gate, we got beverages to sustain us, and found our table. As I wandered from booth to booth gathering food I made sure to get two of everything so Dad could try anything that looked good.

There were lots of old popular vendors, but many had new food offerings! Some were hits and others can be missed!

Sweet Martha's with her cookies,the Corn people with…corn.

This cute kid was dancing away as he shucked roasted corn and i asked if he was practicing for this years Corn Dance! Apparently, he's a new kid on the job, and you need to have some seniority to dance the dance!

Giggles served up walleye fingers, and the Poncho dogs served fine Poncho dogs. Mancini's served us the porketta pig wings, and West Indies Soul food had delicious wings and Jamaican patties stuffed with beef & chicken. Made by this charmer!

There were lots of sweet offerings from the typical savory vendors, Dino's had sweet honey fried dough,

Lulus offered chocolate popovers with peanut butter, Farmers Union (coffee house) had the sweet corn, blueberry eclair & hot maple bacon donut, all of which I will pass on at the fair,

My favorite sweet vendor offered up a savory sensation! Sarah's Tipsy Pies made a Gouda & onion pie that was delish!

Tot Boss had bacon wrapped tots which paled in comparison to the loaded toys from last year and the Gass Station served up the burger dog. I wasn't a fan but Randy thought it was ok.

A couple real winners were the Sausage Sisters with the new smoked wild rice patty.

It looks plain, but was really flavorful!

And RC BBQ (formerly Famous Daves) had a pork on pork sandwich that I could have had more of if I wasn't already stuffed!

As we all ate like kings of the fair, we listened to the live auctioneer as he entertained the crowd bidding on some fun prizes! The 12 day parking spot behind the Administration Building (with your name on it) went for $2000.00. The auctioneer, knowing he had a couple live bidders, offered up a second spot and it went for $1550.00! So for all of you who get to park at Moms house…. now you know the going rate! Mom will put your name on the fence for free.

Friends and family enjoying the evening!

After eating and drinking our fill, we headed over to the games of skill. Some in our group generously gave me their gaming tickets, not truly understanding the futility of the kind gesture.

The lines were shortest for the basketball toss, so I stepped up, gave the kid all my tickets and asked "how long do you think it will take me to hit 15 air balls?" He laughed and said, "let's see!" At one point in the counting he loudly exclaimed, "that's Nine!" I made a basket on ten, and thought I won a prize, but it took one more basket. I nailed shot fourteen and fifteen for good measure and won my duck ball!

We didn't all win, but most of us got a prize!

Most of the family had packed it in, and Randy was ready to head home. Luckily we had two cars, so I offered to accompany Gayle and wait with her in the line for the Sky Ride.

I am too claustrophobic to ride in enclosed containers flying above the ground with no way out, but due to the open bar I had some artificial liquid courage and told Gayle I might even try it.

The line was long, so I had lots of time to think, consult with line mates, and knew I could ditch her at the platform.

For those of you that know the Sky Ride, you're familiar with the few specially painted cars. The police car, fire truck, hippy peace car and the cow. I promised Gayle, as we watched the cars fly past, if the cow car came up for us, I would not bail.

It. Happened.

So you may ask, how many glasses of wine does it take to get a claustrophobic into a cage? …. nine. Nine is the answer. The factors that allowed me to fulfill my agreement were that it was a cool, breezy night, the cars were well ventilated, pre State Fair cleanliness level and I was not exhausted after a full day at the fair.

I won't lie, it was a blast. I won't ever do it again, but I'm so glad we did!

This night ended with a renewed excitement for the 12 days to come!