With no drinks to serve this year, Minnesota State Fair is selling its spare plastic cups

You won't be able to sip your favorite cool beverage at the State Fair this year, but you can do the next best thing: drink it from an official State Fair cup.

With the Great Minnesota Get-Together called off because of the pandemic, the fair is offering the public a chance to buy the plastic cups that would have been used to serve drinks.

They come in three sizes — 12, 16 and 20 ounces — and are sold in sleeves of 50 cups. The 12-ounce cup sells for $12 a sleeve, while the 16-ounce version is $14 and the 20-ounce model is $16. There is a limit of two sleeves per person. (The plastic cups can be recycled, by the way.)

The cups are available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays through the end of July (or as long as supplies last) at the fairgrounds' ticket office, which is in the Admin Too Building, 1312 Cosgrove St. Enter the grounds through the main gate on Snelling Avenue and turn left on Cosgrove. The building is the first one on your left. Free parking in the adjacent lot or on the street.

No electronic payment is available. Sales are by cash or check and are in-person only. "Unfortunately, we are unable to ship any cups at this time," the fair said in a statement. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

For more information, e-mail fairinfo@mnstatefair.org. □