State Fair season is now upon us, and that means that fried everything is probably only a short ride away from where you call home. Some states have already done their thing while others are still busy planning events for later this year, but there are several states getting ready to go for Labor Day Weekend. If you’re looking to overindulge on rides, foods, and fun here’s a couple spots to do it during the holiday weekend:

· Minnesota State Fair:
The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been holding state fairs since 1859, so it’s pretty clear that Minnesota is good at doing the fair thing. This year’s events start today and run through September 5 in Saint Paul. Tickets to the festivities are usually $12 for adults and $10 for the little ones, but there are a few days where you might be able to save a few bucks on admission.

Interactive guides in the form of the Food Finder and Fun Finder are available to help you plan your visit, so if you’re looking for that special food vendor—there’s over 300—or something fun to do they’ve got you covered. Of course there’s even iPhone and Android apps as well, so you can take your map to go when you hit the fairgrounds. There’s plenty of free entertainment too, but if you want to upgrade to a Grandstand show we’re recommending Weezer on September 3—$35—or Train and Maroon 5 on September 5—$37. ]]> kjb 2011-08-25T10:40:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/27/103510/901

It's that time of the year, county and state fair season. While some go to see the has-been musical acts or to get their thrills on creaky old rides, the reason most people go is to gorge on fried fair food. We rounded up some of the weirdest fare that you will only find at a fair this year.

· Deep-Fried Kool-Aid Balls
The San Diego County Fair debuted these treats this year and they are selling like hotcakes. The balls of batter are made of flour, water and the fruity drink powder. A friend who tried them told us, "I could kind of taste the grittiness, which was not so appealing. If you like strawberry-flavored doughnut holes then I'd say it's worth the $6. Fried pickles were way better though." Get them through July 4. ]]> Jennifer Kester 2011-06-27T11:30:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/4/11/13945/4813

It's notoriously difficult to make travel ads that don't look like every other travel ad ever. Green mountains, crystal clear streams, maybe a time-lapse shot of clouds moving behind mountains—and then cut to an outdoor restaurant patio where an ethnically diverse and indeterminately aged group of casually dressed professionals delightfully dine over plates of presumably local cuisine. Most ads, in other words, look exactly like every spot from the Pure Michigan campaign.

To counter the sameness and get some attention, tourism boards have been trying to get ironic and edgy. There's nothing wrong with that—and it's sometimes effective—but when it fails, it spectacularly fails.

There's nothing more obnoxious than irony that tries to be funny and falls short (right Spirit Airlines?). So it's kind of refreshing to see this ad from Explore Minnesota, which takes the opposite approach... ]]> Omri 2011-04-11T14:10:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/21/8161/51150

It might not be the most practical layover destination from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, but if you’re visiting the Twin Cities it might as well be on your itinerary this summer. King Tut and plenty of his ancient goodies have made their way to the Science Museum of Minnesota, and plenty of history will be on display through the beginning of September.

The museum welcomes one and all to enter the golden world of the pharaohs, as the exhibit opened up over the weekend. There’s more than 100 different artifacts from thousands of years past including plenty of goodies from King Tut. Golden sandals as well as 10-foot statue are just some of the items on display during this exhibition. ]]> kjb 2011-02-22T15:26:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/10/9533/02931

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport might not be one of the mighty hubs for Northwest Airlines any longer, but Delta is still around sending plenty of planes to and from the Twin Cities each day of the week. There’s a slew of windows at the airport to check out the aviation action, but there’s actually a somewhat secret observation deck within Terminal 1-Lindbergh.

We say it’s a secret because anytime we’ve visited, there has been no one there, and it’s not even on the airport maps. It’s located in Concourse D up some stairs and kind of behind one of the gift shops in the area—we think it’s called Airport Express or something like that. ]]> kjb 2011-02-10T09:59:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/1/16/235425/624

We've recently been introduced to the gayest country to travel to, which, oddly, is Nepal, but what about the gayest US city? We use the superlative as it relates to the most gay-friendly city, as judged by The Advocate magazine using the most highly scientific criteria:

For each city, The Advocate added up numbers for Gay.com profiles, listed officiants for gay weddings within a 50-mile radius, openly gay elected officials, performances by lesbian sisters musical duo Tegan and Sara over the past five years, lesbian bars, gay and gay-friendly religious congregations and entries in YellowPages.com with "gay" in the business name or description.

And the winner of Gayest City to Visit in the USA is...Minneapolis, Minnesota! Congratulations, MN—you beat out other apparent shoe-ins, like New York City, Portland, Provincetown, and San Francisco. Time to put up some celebratory street signs!

[Photo: jimmywayne]]]> JetSetCD 2011-01-17T17:51:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/3/30/9156/73677

In case you missed it, major league baseball has been getting ready for the 2010 season in both Florida and in Arizona, and after all that practice it’s almost time to get the season officially underway.

We’re big fans of ballparks around the country, and this year there’s one that’s getting us particularity excited. The new home to the Minnesota Twins—Target Field—is set to hold its first major league game this month. It’s also the first time Minnesota fans will be sitting outside to watch a game after years of being trapped inside a dome.

The Twins will first set foot on the stadium’s fresh grass this weekend, but it's only for exhibition games. The St. Louis Cardinals will be in town to check out the new stadium for themselves, but they’ll also be getting a couple last practice games in on April 2 and 3. There will be all kinds of special stuff to commemorate opening weekend, including the unveiling of bronze statues dedicated to Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew. To see some real games where the outcomes matter a little more, you’ll need to stick around and wait until April 12 when the Twins host the Red Sox. ]]> kjb 2010-03-30T12:51:03-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/