Land of 10,000 Pages: "State Fair: The Great Minnesota Get Together"

State Fair: The Great Minnesota Get-Together - Susan Miller, Lorna Landvik

New name for a continue segment on Reading Rainstorm; I'll be hosting my discussions of the many pieces of local Minnesota lore and artistic vision over on my local interest blog, MSP Adventure Time! Take a look here!

 

The entry is State Fair: The Great Minnesota Get Together, published by the Minnesota Historical Society, a book I've had for some years I dug up out of my library while doing a long overdue shelf evaluation to cut down a few before my upcoming move. A quick, fun read, this is a nice coffee table book compiled by photographer Susan Miller and including some writing by popular Minnesota author Lorna Landvik. I was drawn to it perhaps in my freezing apartment due to its recollections of a warmer time in Minnesota's seasons and the vibrant photographs capture that unforgettable essence of the fair. It's been some years since I went last, but I certainly remember that all you can drink milk, though I may avoid that this time around.

 

The photos are vibrant but are often displayed without a lot of context- I wonder how interesting people unfamiliar with the fair would find it, and if they would feel mystified at many of the inferred scene; the unhealthy food on sticks, the various agricultural displays, the crowds. In all, a nice, if not comprehensive, look at one of those venerable Minnesota institutions

 

[Hey, I think I've now written up slightly differing reviews for three separate venues online. Is that too much? How do you corroborate all of your activities when