Party on a Stick

Early last week, Tracy and I were in the midst of a "self-improvement" yoga session at 6:30...and she said: "there's lots of new people here, we should have a party." While aiming for self-actualization and calm, I was really more half-asleep and half-dreaming of food. So the response "let's have a party on a stick and pretend it's the State Fair." And so the plot was launched...and the party planner was called later that day. All the fellow Minnesotans or those with loose connection were invited (it is the GREAT MN get together after all).
For background, I LOVE the State Fair, and the tradition of wandering through, eating and eating and eating...and people watching. Dad, Caden and I have gone the last four years (including 8 months prego) and it's been quite a fond ritual.
No reason to let the lack of wide open space or State Fair like food to stop us from trying here. Wade and Ms. Pinto secured a corn-dog batter recipe from Tom (grinding up all the stale taco shell stock in BLR as a substitute for corn meal) and did some testing on Friday. There was some discussion about mutton dogs, but in the end, safety-first and we settled on the pre-cooked canned kind. Chop sticks served as the sticks. Child testing was successful and we were ready to go!
On the day, there were replica MN flags hung, a tent brought in, a cotton candy machine (seriously!), a face painter (of course!), a beer garden (duh!), a dairy bar (not really, but a sign for one), and lots of good friends. We ended up passing on the Midway, but it was there in spirit. The corn dogs were a huge hit, as was corn on the cob (Lokesh and I looked all over to find 16 ears - once I was able to explain what corn was, and that it's different than ice (the other item on our shopping list)). Seriously, it was tons of fun and if not exactly the same, had the spirit of the Fair to be sure. Even on the walk over, I saw a neighbor out in the lawn wearing a Concordia t-shirt. They're from Germany, but.. small, small world. And so the invite list expanded. There were Minnesotans from Target, Best Buy, Accenture, ADC, and others, Carlson alums, new arrivals and Bangalore veterans...and good friends.
The evening concluded with the "core" team up on the deck, a hookah pipe going and "one last drink." A spectacle and a fond, full feeling befitting the Fair to be sure!
Pictures to follow...