State Fair 2019 - Fairborne and Fairchild & The 50th Anniversary of the Giant Slide

State Fair 2019 (Second Visit) - The Giant Slide

Friday, August 30, 2019

We made it to The Giant Slide and discovered the line for tickets to be very short. Dale surprised me by saying he wanted to go so we purchased a couple tickets, hopped in line, grabbed our mats and made the hike up the stairs. 

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Giant Slide.

The line for tickets was short.

Lots of steps to get to the top.

Obviously it takes longer to get to the top than down to the bottom.

Quite fun for just $2.50. Wow, 1969, 50 years ago. I don't exactly remember it but Mom says I was there. Mom, Dad, Grandma Alice and Grandpa Louie came in the late 1960s starting the year or maybe the year after I was born. I'm still attending more than half a century later. 

State Fair 2019 (First Visit) - The Giant Slide

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Dale and I had a chance to visit the History and Heritage Center at the West End Market and I took some pics of  interesting information. The Giant Slide is 50 years old this year. Didn't make it on this visit so I'll just have to get in another visit this year so I can do that. We may be going this coming Friday with Mike and Charisse.

Here's a picture of a couple that was married on the slide back in 1996. Now why didn't I think of that for my wedding!?

State Fair 2013 - Giant Slide

Behind the Giant Slide
Photo taken Sept. 1, 2013

State Fair 2013 - Skyride 2

A view of the merry-go-round and the Giant Slide from the Skyride.

State Fair 2012 - The Giant Slide 1972 - 2012

I haven't been on the Giant Slide in about 40 years. I decided to give it a try again this year. Dale and I got tickets and made our way up the stairs to the top. As a six year old I remember it feeling like I was having the air knocked out of me as I went over every bump. As a 46 year old it was just plain fun. Forty years was worth the wait!

Photo taken Friday August 24, 2012

State Fair 2012 - The Giant Slide

Ya just gotta see it to believe it.

State Fair 2012 - The Giant Slide

Oh, what fun!

Winter Visit Part 3 - Other Sights

It was a gorgeous, sunny winter day at the Fairgrounds. Strangely warm with no snow.

Top photo: Watertower

2nd photo from top: Giant Slide

3rd photo from top: Skyride

Bottom photo: Watertower

MN State Fair 2011 - More Skyride Photos

On our first fair trip for 2011 Dale and I took the Skyride. I got some really good pictures as we headed east.

The Giant Slide.

Approaching the Ag/Hort building.

A closer shot of the Ag/Hort building.

Above photos taken Friday August 26, 2011.

The Fair 2011 (First Visit) Part 9 - Skyride

This ride is one of my favorites as it's just plain fun!

MN State Fair 2011 Day 2

In this morning's Strib there was a photo of the State Fair's Giant Slide with the caption:

"The Giant Slide is a staple at the State Fair, just as the State Fair is a staple of summer's end in Minnesota. The fair, which opened Thursday, runs through Labor Day."

I believe I've only tried the Giant Slide once way back when I was a just a kid. I was probably about 6 years old so it would have been in the early 1970's. I went by myself as Mom, Dad and Sam didn't want to go. As you can see in the above photo, you need to walk up a long set of stairs. At the top of the slide is a landing with a bunch of burlap potato sacks. You grab a sack to slide on on your way down. Once you're up the only way down is the slide unless you want to push through all the folks on the crowded set of stairs. I had second thoughts once I made it to the top but, being a good mid-westerner, I didn't want to chance bothering anyone by pushing my way back down the stairs. I grabbed a sack and down I went. I hated it. I felt like the air was being pushed out of me as I went over every bump. Oddly, despite this bad experience, I still have fond memories of the Giant Slide.

Skyride 2009 Part 2

These photos were taken on our 2009 trip to the fair. The view is from the Skyride car that Dale and I rode in. In the top photo you can see the full moon near the top of the picture. In the bottom photo you can see the Giant Slide in the middle of the picture.