Minnesota State Fair 2026: Tickets, What to Eat & Which Days Are Actually Cheaper

The Minnesota State Fair runs 27 August to Labor Day, 7 September 2026 — twelve days, and admission is $20 for an adult.

Six of those twelve days are discounted. Every single one is a weekday. Not one Friday, Saturday or Sunday carries a discount of any kind, which means the six days most people can actually get to are the six that cost full price.

Here is what tickets cost, which days are genuinely cheaper, and what to do about food.

When is the Minnesota State Fair 2026?

Thursday 27 August to Monday 7 September 2026, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds — twelve days ending on Labor Day, which is the fair’s own long-standing formula.

As this is published the fair is on day two. Ten days remain, including both weekends and Labor Day itself.

How much are tickets, and how do you buy them?

$20 for an adult, and there are only two places to buy.

Where to buy, now that the fair is running: online, or at the gates. That is the whole list.

There is a Ticket Office inside the fairgrounds on the east side of the Grandstand, open noon to 8 p.m. — but it sells Grandstand Concert Series tickets only, not gate admission. If you turn up there expecting to buy your way in, you are in the wrong queue. (On Labor Day it closes at 4 p.m.)

Two rules worth knowing before you click:

• No refunds and no exchanges. The fair and its ticketing partner also reserve the right to cancel orders that exceed the per-customer limit.
• A ticket is valid for any one day of the 2026 fair, for any guest aged 5 or over. It is not tied to a named person or a chosen date.

Which days are actually cheaper?

Six of the twelve, and the pattern is completely consistent: Monday to Thursday only.

Three things fall out of that table.

Adults are almost entirely locked out. Opening Day was the only date an ordinary adult paid less than $20, and it has already happened. Military Appreciation Day drops adults to $15 but requires valid documentation of service — for active military, veterans and retired military, plus spouses and kids. For everyone else, every remaining day is $20.

The rides calendar is not the admission calendar. They overlap on four days but not on 3 September, which discounts seniors’ admission and does not discount rides. If the midway is the point of your visit, the days to target are 31 August, 1 September, 2 September and 7 September.

Labor Day is doubly worth it. It is a Kids Day, it has ride and game discounts, and it is the last day — when vendors run end-of-fair specials that the fair collects into a “Last Chance” flier available at information booths. The one catch: rides and games close at 8 p.m. that day rather than running late.

Is today a discount day?

No. Friday 28 August has no discounted admission for any group and no ride or game promotion. Neither does either Saturday, either Sunday, or the other Friday.

What is still available on a full-price day, and costs the same whichever day you go:

• The Blue Ribbon Bargain Book, $5. Coupons and discounts from vendors across the grounds. Sold at the State Fair Foundation carts on the grounds and in the State FairWear gift shops.
• The Deals, Drawings & Giveaways Guide — free. Daily discounts, free samples, budget food finds. Pick it up at any information booth.
• Free Park & Ride buses from more than 30 locations. Express services from Metro Transit, SouthWest Transit and MVTA run about $6 round trip per rider, which is still less than parking.

The single largest saving is not a coupon. See the food section below.

What are the new foods for 2026?

Thirty-six new dishes from 34 vendors, plus nine vendors that are new to the fairgrounds altogether.

We are not going to reprint the fair’s list — it publishes the full set with descriptions on its own new-foods page, and that page is its work. A representative handful, to show the range:

The nine entirely new vendors are dodopop, Iemochi Japanese Confections, Jive Turkey BBQ, Midtown Global Market’s El Taco Torro, Minnesota’s Original Apple Fries, Roon’s Savories, Saturday Dumpling Co., Solem’s French Fries and Summer Lakes Boat House.

Two vendors are carrying two new items each this year — the Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop and Urban Glow Mocktails — which is why 36 dishes come from 34 kitchens.

How do you eat at the fair without spending $80?

You are allowed to bring your own food in. That is the one that surprises people, and it is the fair’s own rule, not a loophole: guests may bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages onto the fairgrounds, and there are water refill stations across the site for a reusable bottle.

Three more levers, in order of how much they save:

Use the Food Finder’s value filter. The fair’s own food directory has a category for Value Items, $5 and under. Filter by it and you get the vendors participating; each vendor’s page lists its value items under Additional Information. This is the difference between a $6 snack and a $15 one, repeated across a day.

Get a Souvenir Cup. Food and beverage vendors across the grounds give discounted refills with it, and it works in later years too — so the saving compounds if you come back.

Time the ride tickets, not the food. Ride and game discounts are all-day on five specific dates. Food deals are vendor-by-vendor and change daily, which is what the free Deals guide exists to track.

What can you do for free once you are in?

A surprising amount — enough that a full-price $20 day can still be a cheap day if you never buy a ride ticket.

• The daily parade at 2 p.m. — high school marching band competition, floats, animals and specialty units.
• Free entertainment on the fair stages, all day, all twelve days.
• Livestock and horse shows at the Lee & Rose Warner Coliseum, Compeer Arena and the barns.
• The exhibit buildings — Creative Activities, Agriculture Horticulture, the North End Event Center, History & Heritage Center, Education Building, Fine Arts Center and the 4-H Building.
• Hands-on learning for children — Math On-A-Stick, Alphabet Forest and Little Farm Hands.
• The Pet Pavilions at the North End, including dog agility demonstrations and live spay and neuter surgeries performed by veterinarians.
• Arts A’Fair and the Joyful World Mural Park, with pop-up performances and live mural painting.
• Dan Patch Park, which runs a different daily festival.

Sponsor and promotional exhibits along Wright Avenue also hand out free samples, which is a genuine if unglamorous way to reduce the food bill.

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