An Evening At The Olmsted County Fair

Get our free mobile app

Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) -  The 2021 Olmsted County Fair ends Sunday and it proved to be popular with good-sized crowds reported nearly every day.

Those who attend on an annual basis had to be happy after last year’s fair was canceled because of the pandemic. Organizers had to be happy because the weather was excellent for most of the week.

The fair layout has been changed from its historical design with some amusement rides shifted to a different area and a large parking lot located where the longtime midway had been. But most of the other sights and sounds are still there - numerous food and other vendors, livestock and other competition (sticking to its agricultural roots!) and live entertainment. And - free admission.

My wife and I spent a few hours there Thursday evening and here are some photos of what we saw:

The sun was barely visible - at 7:00 pm!  Blame it on widlfire smoke from Canada.

We watched but decided not to go on the amusement rides. The lines were too long! And we had just eaten!

We also wandered through the animal exhibits. I wasn't aware rabbits were judged!  This guy/gal is ready to go home.

A cutey, eh?

Cow rabbits?

Speaking of cows - ever seen cows this clean?  I wonder if they like being at the fair?

Goats?  Goats at the fair?  Yep, and all sizes, some really small. They had just been judged when we wandered in. There was a line of winners waiting to get their photo - and proud to hold up their blue ribbons!

This winner even agreed to pose for us. Looks a bit shy, eh?  The boy - not the other kid!

And we spotted some pigs - pretty pigs?   I have never seek pinkish pigs before.  I bet they make good hams!

This one started chewing on a plastic bag and then some guy's jeans.

Can you believe this?  The chicken being held by the guy in front of the stage was auctioned off for $250!  A CHICKEN!  Does it lay golden eggs?

And look at what else we found - a Trump vendor, near the beer garden. It was pretty quiet when we walked by. Trump wasn't there, either.

Speaking of the beer garden.  We were disappointed when we went to the building where the beer garden had been for years.  We figured they decided not to sell beer anymore for some reason. I ran into Sheriff Torgerson and asked him why they weren't selling beer this year and he said they had relocated to the building known as Floral Hall. There it was!  And they were also selling spiritis and wine this year, which made my wife happy (she prefers wine).

We enjoyed some more time taking in the sights and sounds and then called it a night. Overall, we gave the experience a 7 out of 10. It's too bad some rowdy kids have made it hard for others to have the same experience.