Fans of mini doughnuts and deep-fried pickles no longer need to wait until the last two weeks of August.
The Great Minnesota Get-Together (and many county fairs) were canceled for 2020 because of the concern that large gatherings could spread COVID-19. But that hasn't stopped fair food vendors from turning on the fryers.
Many vendors are setting up in parking lots, on roadsides, and even at dormant fairgrounds across the state. And Minnesotans are driving out of their way to get their fair-themed snacks, with a Facebook group and an interactive map as their guide.
Lori Lexvold and her son Ian Lexvold manage the 90,000-member-strong Fair Food Finder group on Facebook. Lori, a lifelong attendee originally from Roseville, launched the group after the news that this year's Minnesota State Fair was not to be.
"The loss of not having the state fair this year was very upsetting, and I thought, what better way to help out those food vendors that make their livelihood over the year from the Minnesota State Fair or any of the county fairs — how can we help them?"
She invited 100 of her Facebook friends to join and contribute information about food tents and carts that had been popping up, such as this Faribault woman who is selling Pronto Pups from her driveway. She launched it a little over two weeks ago.
By the end of last week, there were about 15,000 members. That number rose sixfold over the weekend. "It has grown amazingly fast," Lori Lexvold said.
It has even gotten the attention of Minnesota State Fair leadership. The group's name was originally "Minnesota State Fair Food Finder," and the official fair was getting so many inquiries about the list — people requesting changes, or confusing it with the fair's own "State Fair Food Finder" — that it had to ask the Lexvolds to change the name.