| Hidden gems |
By: Melissa Kaelin
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Posted: Friday, August 21, 2009 9:29 pm
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By MELISSA KAELIN
mkaelin@owatonna.com
OWATONNA — With the endless hours of entertainment offered by the Steele County Free Fair, it may be hard to narrow down a list of events to attend. But after four days of non-stop fair fun, we’ve got the scoop on a few must-see events at the county fair this year. Take a little time away from shopping and gorging yourself on fair food, and check out some of these attractions.
The All-American Lumberjack Show
At the All-American Lumberjack Show, you will not only see lumberjacks compete for bragging rights, but you’ll also see these grown men climb on top of a log and roll it through a large basin of water. The spectacle never fails to entertain, and while you’re along for the ride, you can pick up a few pieces of lumberjack trivia.
Take crosscutting for example. With red and blue teams ready to compete, the lumberjack show was missing a key component Friday evening — another lumberjack. So they volunteered a member of the audience to compete with a crosscutting saw. At the show, you’ll also have the chance to win a free chair, cut out of a log in front of your eyes. Now that’s a niche that’s hard to beat.
Niagara Cave Mining Co.
Perhaps you’re interested in the finer things in life. This stop north of the racetrack at the Steele County Free Fair will give you gemstones, but it will make you work for it. For a few bucks, you can mine the jewels yourself, and if jewels aren’t what you’re after, you can mine for fossils instead.
“You can take home whatever you find,” said Jennifer Bishop, who has come all the way from Harmony, Minn., to bring in the event. “The gemstones come from all over the world.”
The Petting Zoo
Whether young or old, everyone can appreciate this fascinating flock of animals. Animals that can be seen in the Petting Zoo this year include everything from ze-donks, which are the result of breeding a zebra with a donkey, to the Patagonian cavy, which is a rodent from South America.
Other animals featured in the show include water buffalo, fallow deer, muntjacs — which are small deer from India, Bennett wallabies, Asian otters, ringtail lemurs, spider monkeys and llamas. Best of all, the attraction is free.
Camel Riding
If you are not interested in feeding the animals, step next door to the Petting Zoo and try to tame one yourself. Camels are harnessed and ready for riding in this attraction, and though there is a small fee, the experience is open to all ages.
In fact, this attraction has been such a hit that instead of offering one camel for rides like it has been all week, on Saturday and Sunday the staffers plan to offer two camels at the same time.
The Human Cannonball
Dave Smith, who is famous for the human cannonball he forms in midair, is back at the fair again this year. He is shot out of a large cannon, and flies over the Ferris wheel, at two different times each day. And there is still time to catch this rare event.
The Minnesota Lottery Human Cannonball is shot into the net on the midway at both 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily.
Rock Climbing
Speed Rock is offering rock climbing at the fair this year, and with four uphill paths to choose from, it’s an attraction to try your strength at. The rock climbing attraction features climbs up “Kilmenjaro,” “Mt. Everest,” “Mt. McKinley,” and “K2,” with varying levels of difficulty.
Greet Johnson, 6, tried out the climb on Friday night, and though he had just returned froma trip to the Grand Canyon, he said it was a hit.
“That was the first time I climbed it,” said Johnson. “I’ve climbed trees very high but not like this.”
The proceeds from this event also go toward a good cause, an initiative called Developing Winning Personalities.
Old Time Barn Dance
Perhaps you are not necessarily visiting the fair for high adventure thrills. Maybe you are back to see familiar faces and enjoy times like the good old days.
The Old Time Barn Dance is here for just that. For some it will be a walk down memory lane and for some it is a time for forming new memories. Whatever the case, there is another dance kicking off Saturday night with Luverne’s Concertina Band at 5 p.m. in the Swine Barn. Be there or be square.
Ferris Wheel
If the human cannonball can see the fair from the air, why can’t you? This is a festival and street fair classic, and the Ferris wheel may be the perfect place to spend a few of your final moments at the fair. You can see far over the midway, and get a sense of Steele County from a more relaxing viewpoint.
That’s not a bad finale for any county fair.
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