Mental Health Awareness at the Minnesota State Fair was simply an idea in 2016...
While visiting the Minnesota State Fair in 2016, Dave Lee, Director of Health and Human Services for Carlton County and Member of the State Advisory Council on Mental Health had an idea: the Minnesota State Fair is the perfect place to increase public understanding about mental health.
After that 2016 visit to the fair, Dave talked with fellow State Advisory Council members, including the Council’s Subcommittee on Children’s Mental Health, about his idea for a mental health awareness event at the fair in alignment with one of the Council's statutory charges to "educate the public about mental illness and the needs and potential of people with mental illness." With full Council support, Dave met with State Fair administrators, who greeted the idea with enthusiasm. They told him that the fair’s Dan Patch Park and Stage were available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2018. If he and his colleagues could organize an event big enough to fill the space, they could have it.
A day long Mental Health Awareness event with 10 hours of programming is a lot to organize. And thus a partnership had to be formed...
Dave reached out to NAMI-Minnesota Executive Director Sue Abderholden, who offered to partner with the Council and dedicate staff time to help organize the event. NAMI-MN's leadership ability in organizing events helped to make Dave's idea a reality. Now in its 7th year, this is an annual event with a Virtual Mental Health Awareness event during the pandemic.
In addition to NAMI-MN staff, the current planning committee for Mental Health Awareness at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair includes members and former members of the State Advisory Council on Mental Health and Subcommittee on Children's Mental Health, and NAMI-MN Volunteers. The planning committee meets monthly for 8 months every year to plan for entertainment, exhibit booths, promotion of the event, artwork, volunteers, etc.
To see more history about how Mental Health Awareness at the Minnesota State Fair came about, read the full and original article "Daylong State Fair event on Aug. 27 aims to normalize conversation about mental health" by Andy Steiner published on 08/13/2018 at MINNPOST.