The Minnesota State Fair has begun.

This year’s Great Minnesota Get-Together runs from Aug. 27 to Labor Day, Sept. 7. Here’s what you need to know to plan your visits:

Hours & tickets

Fairgrounds hours are from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, with final admission at 9 p.m. Labor Day hours are different: The Fair still opens at 7 a.m., but final admission is at 6 p.m. and the Fair comes to a close for the year at 8 p.m.

Most buildings on the Fairgrounds are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (or 8 p.m. on Labor Day). Specific information is online at mnstatefair.org/about/hours.

Ticket prices are $20 for general admission, $18 for kids 5-12 and seniors $65-plus and free for kids 4 and under.Getting to the Fair

The Minnesota State Fair operates a free Park & Ride bus service from 32 locations around the Twin Cities, most of which are clustered near the Fairgrounds in St. Paul, Roseville and surrounding areas. These buses begin at 8 a.m., with final trips to the Fairgrounds at 8 p.m. (or 5 p.m. on Labor Day) and return trips back to your cars at 11:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. on Labor Day).

For a small fee, Metro Transit, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority and SouthWest Transit also provide Fair bus service from further-out suburbs around the whole Metro area. Those details are online at mnstatefair.org/get-here. These times vary, so you’ll have to check each bus’s schedule.

Cyclists can park bikes for free in designated and monitored corrals from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. (or 9:30 p.m. on Labor Day) and fairgoers riding motorcycles (or other motorized vehicles with license plates) can park in a designated lot for $15.

For those looking to drive to the Fair, the city of Falcon Heights is once again charging a flat $25 day rate to park on select city streets around the Fairgrounds.

Fortunately for traffic levels, Minnesota 280 is back open in both directions, an on-time conclusion to a lengthy closure for resurfacing projects.

Weather

The Fair’s first two days are set to be gorgeous, but rain could come during opening weekend.

The National Weather Service forecasts sunny conditions Thursday and Friday, with highs in the low 80s. On Saturday, morning thunderstorms are possible and midday rain is likely, and a chance of overnight thunderstorms and a Sunday high of 89 could make things muggy.

As of now, for the first few days of next week, conditions are looking mostly sunny and seasonably warm, with highs again in the low- to mid-80s.

Health & safety

For the 18th year, Regions Hospital Emergency Medical Services are providing free first aid and medical care, with paramedics, nurses and doctors on-site all 12 days.

Fair health officials recommend fairgoers bring plenty of water — including reusable bottles, which can be refilled at drinking fountains around the Fairgrounds — and bandages, hand sanitizer and over-the-counter pain relief medication.

Heat-related illnesses are among the most common conditions the Regions team sees, according to Aaron Burnett, the Regions EMS Medical Director who also leads the State Fair’s medical services operation. Don’t forget sunscreen, hats and portable fans, he reminds.

For the 12 days of the State Fair, Burnett’s team runs the busiest emergency medicine department in the state, he said. And his goal is for the Fair’s two medical buildings to not just be basic first-aid tents but fully functional on-site clinics for what is essentially a pop-up city of hundreds of thousands of people every day.

“We know people drive from all over the state to come to the Fair, and it’s a really big deal to tell them they have to leave the Fairgrounds and go to a hospital,” Burnett said. “We really try to make sure that we can provide a level of care at the Fair that allows us to keep people there as long as it’s safe.”

Believe it or not, Burnett said, he tells people the State Fair is “probably one of the safest places in the state to be.”

“People always joke about how unhealthy the eating is, and I like to counter that and say, all the walking and the exercise you do while you’re there is extremely healthy,” he said. “All the walking, all the mental health (benefits) you can get from listening to great music, the State Fair is a very healthy place to be.”

And in the public safety realm, officials are also on alert. This month, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office and Minnesota Attorney General’s Office have taken legal action to try to stop alleged gang activity at the Fair, and the Ramsey County sheriff this week sent warning letters to more than 200 additional people.

State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla told the Pioneer Press this week that nearly 160 officers from 62 police and sheriff’s offices throughout Minnesota are set to join the Fair’s police force this year.