ST. PAUL – The Great Minnesota Get-Together will not be held in 2020. The board of managers of the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, which governs the Minnesota State Fair, announced the move after their meeting Friday. The event was scheduled for Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.

“This isn’t a difficult decision. It’s the only decision,” State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer said. Navigating health risks is the most important piece in a very complex situation. In addition, the State Fair’s vast network of partners and thousands of people are facing challenges that seriously hamper their ability to fully participate in the State Fair.

In a normal year, preparing for an event the scale and scope of the Minnesota State Fair is a year-round operation and a mammoth undertaking; in the midst of a global pandemic, it is impossible, the society’s announcement said.

“We’re extremely grateful for the understanding and support of everyone who makes the State Fair possible – especially the millions of fair fans from around the globe,” Hammer says. “Your team of State Fair pros is working hard to come back bigger, better, stronger and smarter in ’21.” The Great Minnesota Get-Back-Together is Aug. 26 – Labor Day, Sept. 6, 2021.”

“Right now is the time of year when things need to really take off if we’re going to have a fair, but we can see that we’re out of runway and can’t get off the ground. There will be no State Fair this year,” the statement said.

2020 gate admission tickets will be valid for the 2021 fair. No action is required. Fair guests can bring their tickets with them and get them scanned at the gate any one day of the 2021 Minnesota State Fair, Aug. 26 – Sept. 6. All of the 2020 Grandstand shows have been postponed to 2021. Concert tickets will be valid for the 2021 date, and seat locations will remain the same. No action is required. New show dates will be announced in the coming weeks and months. Learn more about ticketing and refunds: https://www.mnstatefair.org/answers/

Since its inception, the fair has been held every year with only five exceptions: in 1861 and 1862 due to the Civil War and U.S.-Dakota War, in 1893 because of scheduling conflicts with the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, in 1945 due to federal government travel restrictions during World War II, and in 1946 due to a polio epidemic.

The Minnesota State Fair is one of the largest and best-attended expositions in the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors annually.