No more commemorative bricks... the two sites are filled.
No more commemorative benches... there are almost too many of them.
But the Minnesota State Fair Foundation, which has been using both programs to raise money for upkeep of aging infrastructure on the historic fairgrounds in Falcon Heights, has a new way to have fair fans add their names for generations to come to see.
The Welcome Wall at the revamped Gate Nine near the Miracle of Birth Center has room for some 5,000 blue or green tiles that'll display names, dates, favorite foods, and unique State Fair quotes.
"One of the new benches this year, the back of it says 'Your Tush Here," said Mary Chung, director of the state fair foundation.
The genius behind that posting was lucky... the bench program took in donations this year for the final time and that person got in under the wire.
"It was a few tough days at the office," Chung said about when the discontinuation of the bench program first got out and potential donors scrambled to get in.
The commemorative benches at the state fair was genius as well.
When it started, there were few sitting options at the fairgrounds, and ones that were available were pretty much patches of grass or the top row of bricks on a wall.
Now, there are more than 2,500 benches, and no room left for more.
"It started nearly twenty years ago (when) there just wasn't enough places to sit on the fairgrounds," said Chung. "It really met that need."
Dedicating benches is no longer an option, and it all came after the end of the popular brick program, which resulted in engraved messages on bricks that were inlaid into the sidewalk near the Grandstand and JV Bailey House.
That's where the Welcome Wall comes in to fill another void.
If it's built.
This is where the Welcome Wall will go up, the newly landscaped Gate 9 near the Miracle of Birth CenterAudacy
"It's part of state fair magic, it should be up by the time state fair starts," Chung said, he voice brimming with confidence.
The Wall is expected to be forty feet long and eight feet tall, with the tiles reminiscent what folks have been flocking to see in the Crop Art room of the Ag-Hort Building.
"We're anticipating that it'll be around for a few years, and then we'll have to think up what the next thing is," said Chung. "We know that people love the fair so much."
They've also loved commemorative programs, which have raised more than $20 million since the Foundation was established in 2002.
Beginning on Aug. 22, the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, fair fans will be able to order custom-engraved 7" x 3" tiles with a tax-deductible contribution of $600 to the Minnesota State Fair Foundation.
The first batch of tiles will be installed in time for the 2025 State Fair, which starts next Aug. 21.
WCCO's Al Schoch and his wife Amy have two commemorative bricks outside of the Grandstand.
