With the price of just about everything going up, this isn't a huge surprise. The Minnesota State Fair has upped their prices again for the 2023 season, announcing the price increase on Sunday (January 15th).

The reason for the price increase? Inflation and, according to FOX 9, increasing security details, which means more security at the event this year in an effort to keep everyone safe. Last year, there was a shooting incident in the midway, which caused people to panic and scramble. The fair called it a "disturbance" and closed early that night.

These two factors are the reason for the price increase, with prices rising one dollar per age group for the 2023 season. That means the price of admission for those thirteen through sixty-four will be eighteen bucks this year.

Seniors and children will have to fork over sixteen bucks to attend this year, while kids under the age of five will continue to get into the fair for free. This news comes after a meeting with the Minnesota State Agricultural Society that took place this month.

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This isn't the first year that fairgoers have been impacted by rising costs. Last year, inflation had a big impact on vendors, many of which had to raise prices because they were paying more for the products themselves.

Last year, the Minnesota State Fair also increased prices to keep up with rising costs. They also announced shorter operating hours, at the time citing labor shortages, supply chain issues and a time crunch for the changes.

The good news is that, despite the slight increase in prices, the fair was still a big success. Nearly double the people attended the opening day of the fair compared to the year prior, when the pandemic was still in full swing. Nearly two-million people attended the fair over the course of the event, which is pretty impressive considering the state of things.

Overall, it was a success with major new attractions, a big beverage list with a ton of new additions and of course, new food choices which included some strange and some delicious choices!

While we do have quite awhile before the Minnesota State Fair, we can start making our list of just what we want to eat right now while we wait out big concert announcements and the list of new foods for the year ahead!

In the meantime, if you know for sure you will be attending the fair, you can purchase tickets ahead of time and save a few bucks. They are on sale now at a discounted rate. A price increase will go into effect on February first.

Be cautious if you are purchasing tickets online, though. Make sure you are purchasing them from the official Minnesota State Fair website to avoid ticket scams, which were a problem in late 2021. The fair kicks off on August 24th.

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