Last year, Mary Jane Burgett got a taste of the fun and fame that come with being first through the gate on the first day of the Minnesota State Fair.

It was such an exciting experience that the 7-year-old persuaded her parents, Clayton Burgett and Rose Hume, to once again camp out overnight outside the main gates on Snelling Avenue so she could claim the honor for 2024. The family arrived at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday and pitched a tent.

Mary Jane Burgett, 7, covers her ears as people cheer during the countdown to the opening of gates for the first day of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Mary Jane was first through the Snelling Ave. main gates Thursday, along with her parents, father Clayton Burgett, right, and mother Rose Hume. The Minneapolis family was also first through the gates last year. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

When Minnesota State Fair CEO Renee Alexander rang the Fair’s ceremonial cowbell at 7 a.m. to signal the opening of the Fair, Mary Jane bounded through the gate.

“Bunnies! I’m going to see the bunnies,” she said. “Then it’s the swings or maybe the Ferris wheel.”

First Fair food? “Probably a blueberry waffle,” Hume said. “She loves blueberries.”

The family, who live in Minneapolis, brought a tent, a hammock, two chairs, board games and art supplies for their overnight adventure. “She likes to draw, so we drew a lot,” Clayton Burgett said. “We played rock, paper, scissors for, like, three hours, and tic tac toe for a couple of hours.”

A couple hoping to be first in line came at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, but Mary Jane, a rising second-grader at St. Anthony Park Elementary School in St. Paul, had already staked her claim. Another person showed up Wednesday night, but also left after realizing they weren’t going to be first, Clayton Burgett said.

Mary Jane “came up with this idea last year after she heard us talking about it,” he said. “She said, ‘Can anybody be first?’ and we said ‘Yes.’ ‘So, we can be first?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and she’s like, ‘Can we?’ And here we are again. It’s just a way to make memories for the kiddo. Hopefully, she’ll remember those three hours of rock, paper, scissors.”

Fairgoers break out the umbrellas and ponchos as the rain began to fall in the afternoon of the first day of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug., 22, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Is this going to become an annual event? “We don’t know,” he said. “Last night she said, ‘Next year we don’t have to be first.’ She wants to give the title to somebody else. But then she rebutted that like half an hour later and said, ‘Well, what if I want to be first?’ So we might be back next year.”

Said Hume: “It’s a great way to make memories and see some friends. That’s always how it is, too. You see somebody you’ve seen yesterday or someone you haven’t seen in 20 years. That’s always something fun to look forward to.”

Next in line

Next in line were Ginger Johnson, who arrived at 1 a.m., and Jason Hanson, who arrived at 3 a.m. The two befriended each other in 2019 – when Johnson, 63, of Apple Valley, was first in line and Hanson, 52, of Blaine, was second.

“In 2019, I went in memory of my brother Butch, who I lost in January of that year,” Hanson said. “He always wanted me to be one of the first people through the gate of the State Fair because he knows how much I love the Fair. I got here, and I met Ginger, and we’ve been friends ever since. I went all 12 days of the Fair back in 2019.”

Hanson, who grew up in Wilson, Wis., said his father, Phillip Johnson, used to let him and his brother skip a day of school to go to the Fair.

“He would get up early, and we would drive over,” he said. “It’s a way to honor my dad.”

Ginger Johnson said her quest to be first in line was a tribute to her daughter, Luppy Wencel, who died in July 2022 of complications related to diabetes.

“I want to get her in first, so I keep trying,” Johnson said, fingering a locket around her neck containing some of Wencel’s ashes. “It hasn’t happened yet. But next year I’ll be here, so she can be first.”

Fairgoers ride the SkyGlider at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Something special

There’s something special about being at the Fair before the throngs of people arrive, said Johnson, who plans to make 10 trips to the Fair this year.

“The barns don’t smell. The bathrooms are clean,” she said. “You can see animals. It’s pleasant. There’s no food on the ground. You get the fresh food smells instead of other smells. The lines aren’t as long. And the people are generally happier because it’s the first day, and they haven’t been here for many days, and it’s cooler, and they’re not crabby.”

“The exciting part about being here this early is you get to see the State Fair wake up,” he said. “If you really love the State Fair, like Ginger and I do, it’s just a great experience because you sit here and you see a couple hundred people this early, and then by 1 or 2 in the afternoon, there’s thousands of people here. and you’re, like, ‘Wow.’ It’s just incredible.”

The friends planned to make a breakfast stop at Andy’s Grill before seeing all the other sights.

“They have a great croissant breakfast sandwich that has egg on it, and then you can get ham, bacon or sausage,” Hanson said. “That’s been a tradition of mine for at least five years now.”

‘It’s all perfect’

Next up were the mother-son duo of Misty Leonida and Elias Pearson, who left their house in Inver Grove Heights a little after 4 a.m. and were in line by 4:45 a.m.

“What’s the best thing about being first? Everything’s fresh. It’s all clean. The food tastes great. You know? It’s all perfect. It’s a great day,” Leonida said.

Their first planned stop was to pick up an electric mobility scooter for Leonida and then coffee at the Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop on Dan Patch Avenue. Pearson planned to have a London broil steak sandwich, and Leonida wanted to try a grilled-cheese sandwich with pickles.

“We write down what we’re going to do and what we’re going to eat and check off our list,” she said. “We plan.”

Claire Smalley, of Chicago, planned to make a beeline for the animal barns as soon as she went through the gate. Smalley, who was waiting near the front of the line with her friends Amanda Riley, of Minneapolis, and Rob Ridner, of North St. Paul, attends all 12 days of the Fair.

“We go straight back to the barns for that peace and quiet,” Smalley said. “It’s our favorite place, and we’re just so excited to be here every year. We always cry happy tears. Seeing all the kids bring the animals in, it’s just, like, the perfect kickoff — the perfect way to start it before all the chaos comes, you know?”

Members of the Twins Cities Unicycle club perform during the daily parade at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Friday Aug. 25, 2023. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

A countdown before opening

Minnesota State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla treated the early-bird Fair-goers to a special countdown. “Fifteen minutes!” he shouted at 6:45 a.m. “Fifteen minutes!” He continued the countdowns – which were met with huge cheers – at intervals until 7 a.m.

“There’s a lot of positive energy, and we just like to get people fired up and excited to get in here and have a great time,” he said. “The 2-minute warning was the best one. We waited till about 2 minutes to really get the full excitement. They knew it was close. I mean, they’re true Minnesotans, right? Minnesotans love the Fair. Some of these people I see every year at the gate on opening day ready to come in.”

Thom Miller is one of those people. The St. Louis Park resident says getting to the Fair at 6:15 a.m. – 45 minutes before the gates open – means he gets a prime parking spot for free.

“As early as I get here, I’ve never been up front because there are about a dozen people who have been there seemingly overnight or at least from 1 a.m.,” he said.

Usually, there are politicians like U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar greeting the early birds, he said, but this week “all the politicians must be in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention.”

Miller met his college friend Tim O’Toole for the first day – a tradition that started 20 years ago, he said.

“It’s kind of fun when you go into some of the buildings, and you’re the very first of the day, and everybody just kind of knowingly looks around, and it’s, like, ‘OK, here we go,’” he said. “Some of the salespeople are still getting their spiels down at their displays. … It’s just like a waking-up time for the Fair that is really fun to witness. You get to chat with everyone, and everybody is in a great mood.”

Miller, who grew up in St. Paul, said he loves everything about the State Fair. He goes three or four times a year and “knows those grounds like the back of my hand,” he said.

“I’ve often thought about why I enjoy it so much,” he said. “It certainly isn’t any particular place, or food, or activity. It’s the event itself. I love Disney World, too, and I’m sure it’s because I am both a very social person and a romantic as well. However, in a different way from Disney World, the fair has a certain ‘Brigadoon’ nature. During 50 weeks of the year, this huge chunk of land in the middle of a major metropolitan area lies in fallow. Then for 12 days, it’s arguably the most lively part of the state, packing people shoulder to shoulder for what is essentially a big party. People stroll around eating, drinking, and playing. Like a party, one sees mostly the old and familiar; the 4H building, the all-you-can-drink milk, but usually a few new things, too. Then at the end of 12 days, the people, the food, the party vanishes again for another year.”

O’Toole couldn’t resist giving Miller a hard time for “being one of those firsters.”

“He has to be one of the first 50 people through the gate on Snelling,” he said. “Why? It’s like some people buy a Corvette. It’s just compensating, you know? It’s a cry for help.”

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