Minnesota State Fair vendors put final touches on booths before opening day

The Minnesota State Fair was busy Wednesday as vendors worked to finish last-minute preps before the gates opened Thursday. 

For longtime vendors, setting up is second nature. Some have been doing it for decades, including Stacey Pittroff-Barona.

"I've been here 29 years, and we are also doing this at the last minute, I feel like," Barona said.

When she first started Quench'd, it was a water stand. It has since grown to a lemonade stand, serving lemonade made from a family recipe, including a new drink.

"It's called the Sweet Peach Lemonade Sparkler, and it takes our fresh-squeezed lemonade, combines with a peach syrup and then we top it off with a sweet peach cold foam, Pop Rocks," Isabella Barona said. 

But even the veterans know things don't always go exactly as planned.

"That's where you kind of have to come up with the new plan on the fly quick, but that's just the way us concessionaires roll," she said.

It's a rapid rush Alysia Anderson, whose family runs Dino's Gyros, can relate to.

"We've been here for 43 years," Anderson said. "It's insane. There is a butt in every seat, the music is blasting, the food is being handed out and the beer is pouring."

Jeff Wateska with WOW! Gourmet Fudge and Chocolate says Minnesota's big summer bash has become their sales Super Bowl.

"We have five chefs who've been basically the past two weeks cooking nonstop," he said. "We brought about three tons of fudge and hopefully won't go home with any."

For newer vendors, the final preparations come with excitement and nerves, especially when you're far from home. 

"We're excited to bring a little Southern hospitality to Minnesota nice," Mike Neal, owner of Jive Turkey BBQ, said.

Jive Turkey BBQ is making its debut all the way from North Carolina with a menu built around Thanksgiving, including the Crack-n-Cheese Bowl and a Thanksgiving Stuffed Turkey Leg.

"Fairgoers can choose between mac and cheese, collard greens, candy yams, stuffing, gravy and some other items," Neal said. "They can kind of build their own turkey leg."

Ultimately, he said it's all about bringing some food, fun, fellowship and family together.

As the final checks continued, all vendors were excited to go from setup to opening day. 

The Minnesota State Fair gates open Thursday at 7 a.m.