Minnesota State Fair history up for bidding at memorabilia, surplus equipment auction

The Minnesota State Fair is still more than five months away, but you can get your hands on a piece of the fun right now during the fair's Memorabilia and Surplus Equipment Auction.

"This gives us a good chance to clear up some storage space and allow fair fans, or anyone who's interested, in having a piece of the fair, their chance at getting that equipment instead of just having it sit in storage," said fair spokesperson Maria Hayden.

This is only the second time they've done an auction like this, held entirely online, with a wide range of items from old posters and pictures, to the original chairs from the newly renovated Coliseum.

"It was constructed in 1951 and so those have been with the building as long as it's been around," Hayden said. "So it holds a lot of great memories for a lot of people who hold that building dear to them."

Leading the hundreds of items up for auction is a vintage, horse-drawn water wagon — which is already up to $900 and counting. A carousel horse is also making the rounds with dozens of bids.

"All the revenue from the auction and all the revenue that we make here at the fair goes back into producing the Minnesota State Fair and maintaining the fairgrounds. So all these buildings that we have around that we're storing these items, or that you use during the fair, we use yearround, and they require a lot of maintenance," Hayden said. "It's always fun to see how things progress throughout the week, and what people are excited about is always interesting to me as well."

Bidding closes Monday, March 16. Click here for more information on the auction.