Time to whet that gluten-free appetite of yours and tempt you with some of the most memorable food of the year! Yup the Minnesota State Fair is just a few weeks away and there are 13 new companies on the list of vendors and their gluten-free food offerings! Plus, if you like this– how about getting into the Fair for FREE!!
Now that it is August, Minnesotans really start to think about the State Fair. More than 1.5 million people attend the 12-day event each year. This year the fair starts on Thursday, August 26th and you can start eating like kings then!
What’s Gluten-Free at the Minnesota State Fair?
First of all we have to thank the Northland Celiac Support Group, who for the last few years, has been putting this list together for all of us to use. Their 2010 list shows more than a dozen new companies on this list compared to last year: Andres Watermelon; Carousel Barbecue; Fried Fruit by Tempting Foods; Fudge Folks, Inc.; Henry’s Kettle Korn; Holy Land Brands, Inc.; Ice Cream Parlour; The Icee Co.; Nut Roll; Sonny’s Moe & Joe’s Coffee; Texas Steak Out — Fun Biz Concession; Tropical Flavored Cotton Candy and West Indies Soul Food, Inc.
Plus there are nearly two dozen other companies that are returning this year with their great gluten-free creations! You can download your copy of the list and bring it with you to the fair.
Get in Free to the Fair
How you ask? Volunteer to help with the Northland Celiac Support Group’s booth and you will get free admission to the State Fair for the day you work. The shifts are short, so you can take in the fair during another part of the day too! Click here to get more information on volunteering. You will have to pay for your own parking or take the free shuttles from anywhere in the Twin Cities Metro area.
New this year, the Northland table will be separate from the Anaphylaxis & Food Allergy Association of Minnesota. You can still find them both in the HealthFair11 Building on the State Fair Grounds. Whether you volunteer or not, please go check out their booth. They’ll have experts there along with prizes and games plus educational materials. It also would be nice to give them quick thank you for this great list they’ve complied!!
Tags: food, gluten-free, menu, Minnesota State Fair
August 4th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Oh yay, thanks for the post! I am a little bit leery, though (have Celiac, so can’t have any gluten at all). It sounds like they are leaving it up to the vendors to suggest what the vendors think is GF. Been doing this long enough that I know that stuff like sauces and vinegars are easily missed by people who only know that we can’t have wheat/rye/barley (oats). We celiacs know (through not fun experience) that barley as malt and in natural flavorings can be pretty easy to miss, among other things. Any idea if anyone talked to the vendors to ask questions like that? Thanks!
August 4th, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Lynne, You can always go to the Northland link listed above and contact them to find out how they determine this list. That is my recommendation. Since this list is from a celiac support group, I am sure they don