Find parking and Do The Most Good at the Minnesota State Fair
While Minnesotans will eagerly anticipate the “Great Minnesota Get Together” for the food, rides, and booths, most have or will quickly come to dread one thing: parking.
As Alorah Burn explained, “It’s a pain to try and find parking.”
Burn worked long days at the fair, slinging fries at the shack for Fresh French Fries. When parking isn’t guaranteed for fair staff, employees like Burn just hope they find something. Like many other drivers, she circled the block a few times in search of a spot for free. When you finally give up on free, you hope you can find a reasonably priced parking spot. With parking at the Booth Brown House, you not only find a spot for $15, but you know your contribution is doing the most good through Salvation Army programs.
Booth Brown House is located just east of the fair’s main gate at 1471 Como Ave. W. in Saint Paul. It serves as a state fair parking sanctuary. Some families only park here each year, making it as much of a tradition as the fair itself.
Tom Stemski will bring his family to the fair again this year, and just like years past, he’ll park at the Booth Brown House. “My favorite thing about the fair, we always come here to park,” smiled Tom Stremski. “I have to say the price has come up a bit, but we still love paying it, it’s awesome.”
Years ago, Stremski was a delivery driver and nearly every day made a delivery to the dock at Booth Brown House. He and his wife have been going to the fair for more than 20 years and have never missed an opportunity to pay, park and help.
When you park at Booth Brown House, you know the parking cost isn’t a $15 fee, but a generous donation. For every car that helps fill the lot, every penny goes directly to help pay for the programs at the home.
Booth Brown House is a safe house for young adults who have no other place to go. The house not only provides a place to live, but helps 16 to 25-year-olds with school and helps prepare them to for the working world. Any money collected goes directly to help offset the programs. It helps pay for bus passes, helps purchase clothing for school and job interviews, it helps setup housing kits so the young adults can one day get a place on their own.
The lot is located just east of Snelling on Como Avenue and it does get full, but Salvation Army volunteers will do what they can to find you a spot so you can park, and help too.
Please join The Salvation Army by volunteering or making a donation to support your local community today.