It's totally worth seeing if you can make the dates... Rides, a traditional carnival midway, tons of fried food, and lots of fair-style entertainment -- pig races, rodeo, craft exhibitions, animal shows, and live music. Also the auto show - my boyfriend likes seeing the new cars, and usually one of the truck manufacturers is giving free rides in trucks on a "stunt track" where they go off jumps.

It's so huge that a little planning is helpful... I always get the schedule and check on what time the music I want to see will be on. I also look at the list of the "new fair food" and the winners for the year, think about which ones I really want to try, and find their locations on the map.

Food, rides, and carnival games will all cost extra, but the exhibitions and entertainment are all free, so you could wind up spending a lot or you could make a reasonable day out of it, it just depends on what you want to do. Riding the light rail will save you on parking costs.