The 2004 Minnesota State Fair will showcase the best of Minnesota including agriculture, art, industry, entertainment, food and fun. The 141st Great Minnesota Get-Together runs Thursday, Aug. 26-Monday, Sept. 6. Regular admission to the fair is $9 for adults 13-64, $8 for seniors 65 and older and children 5-12. Admission is free for children younger than 5. Pre-fair discount tickets are available through Aug. 25 and are good for all ages for only $7. Entrance gate hours are 6 a.m.-10 p.m. and fairgrounds are open until midnight, though both the gate and fairgrounds close at 9 p.m. Labor Day, Sept. 6. For more information and everything you need to know about the Minnesota State Fair, visit www.mnstatefair.org. oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Minnesota State Fair artwork available The Minnesota State Fair will introduce the first in a series of original artwork State Fair posters and prints. Each year a new Minnesota artist will be selected to visually interpret the meaning of “The Great Minnesota Get-Together.” The results of their efforts will become the annual state fair commemorative poster. The artists selected for the 2004 poster were Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson. Fancher and Johnson have illustrated 26 books including My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss and Cat, You Better Come Home by Garrison Keillor. They also provided pre-production set and character design for the movies “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life.” For the state fair poster, Fancher and Johnson created a whimsical scene where city meets country and dance by the light of the mighty midway. The colorful, light-hearted painting has been made into signed and numbered prints and the 2004 Minnesota State Fair poster. Prints and posters are available in limited quantities and are sold exclusively by the Minnesota State Fair Foundation. For a preview of the painting and detailed information on print and poster sales, visit the foundation Web site at www.MSFfoundation.org or call (651) 632-2620.
