(PHOTOS) State Fair Has Grand Debut

With sunny skies and pleasant weather, the got off to a grand start on Thursday.

Crowds filed in through the main gate and to the many rides, attractions and food vendors located throughout the 320-acre fairgrounds. In each of the last three years, roughly 1.7 million people have visited the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and provided the weather cooperates, 2011 should have a similar attendance.

To document the fair's opening day, St. Louis Park Patch teamed up with Debra Fisher Goldstein. Goldstein is a St. Louis Park resident who, for the past seven years, has photographed the fair on a regular basis for her own website. She has a unique perspective on the iconic and the ironic, the peculiarities and the poignant, and of course, the people that make the fair what it is.

Look for more from Goldstein during the fair. Patch will also catch up with her to see how—and why—she does what she does.