The 2014 Minnesota State Fair has come and gone and I survived the 12-day marathon once again. Barely. As I stated in last month’s column, I had been seriously considering making this year my last as a caricaturist at the Great Minnesota Get Together

 

And now, after this recent endeavour, I’m even more convinced thats the last time I draw pictures for people at that venue. 

 

To me it’s the Great Minnesota Get Crazy Together.

 

The up-front costs, the materials, the taxes, the percentages, the physical labor — all those things have combined to make the experience of trying to bring smiles to people’s faces into a rather sad affair.

 

And this year was no exception.

 

Despite the fact the state fair had a record attendance this year and despite the fact the weather was incredibly pleasant for the majority of days, the Great Minnesota Get Together was somewhat of a disappointment.

 

I remember when the fair was a family event where for the first 12 hours of the day, children and families could walk around and enjoy the event without foul-mouthed drunks swearing and acting foolishly even before the noon bell rings. 

 

It’s crazy out there.

 

I remember the days when there were a couple beer gardens and most of the “drunks” came out at night. Now there’s a bar on almost every corner and the drinking and swearing starts very early in the day.

 

Crazy.

 

My nephew-in-law Josh and I arrived at the food building at 8 a.m. or so one day and the guy in front of us was trying to order a beer from the cashier. She told him they don’t serve beer at that time. What surprised me was she told him they start serving beer at 9 a.m., so he’d have to wait just a little while.

Nine a.m.? More craziness.

 

It’s no wonder that by 3 p.m. I would have drunken idiots  bothering well-mannered patrons on the street outside my booth. One guy held a stuffed toy in his arms and went around asking people if his baby was cute. Then he made a rather rude comment to a girl whose boyfriend I was drawing and I couldn’t find the right color red for his face as he nearly jumped out of his seat to take down the obnoxious heckler.

 

Crazy is an understatement.

 

Believe me. These are the kinds of things I will definitely not miss about working at the state fair.

 

The other things I won’t miss are the costs. We pay an up-front fee to get into the fair every year, we pay admission every day (which I believe skews that “record attendance” mark), we pay sales tax and we pay for electricity and camping.

 

It’s an expensive endeavour every year.

 

So after closing down the doors of my booth that last Labor Day night and driving away from the shadow of the great water tower the next day, I am thoroughly convinced I just completed my (and my Dad’s) final run at the Minnesota State Fair after 38 years.

 

Goodbye MSF. 

 

Goodbye craziness.

 

Hello sanity.