By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Jul 02, 2020 at 11:01 AM Photography: Lori Fredrich

Good news for your taste buds: The Wisconsin State Fair may be canceled this year, but you can still snag many of your deep-fried Fair favorites thanks to a newly announced drive-thru spot.

A part of the event's State Fair Necessities initiative – which already is helping you cure your cream puff cravings come August – the new drive-thru will open for four weekends throughout July and August in Wisconsin State Fair Park, allowing hungry Wisconsinites to get a taste of the temporarily shelved summer tradition. Cars will be invited to drive into the grounds, where several vendors will be scattered, selling their signature snacks, deep-fried delicacies and more to be enjoyed at home. (There will be no dine-in options as customers are not allowed to exit their vehicles.)

"These additions to the State Fair Necessities are another way to sweeten the sting of the Wisconsin State Fair cancellation," said Kathleen O’Leary, Wisconsin State Fair Park CEO, in a release. "We are thrilled to offer another slice of the State Fair with these Fair traditions."

Vendors and menus are expected to change each week, so stay tuned to the Wisconsin State Fair's website for food options. (The website notes that the full list for each impending weekend should be finalized and posted on Mondays.) For a sneak preview, however, here are some of the vendors already slated for the drive-thru:

Week 1: July 23-26

  • 3B Corn Dogs
  • The Big Cheese
  • G&G Funnel Cakes
  • Pork Schoppe
  • Sweets & Treats
  • Emma's Cookie Kitchen
  • Island Noodles
  • Gertrude's Pretzels
  • Charlie's Great Food
  • Waffle Chix
  • Rick's Pizza

Week 2: July 30 - Aug. 2

  • 3B Corn Dogs
  • The Big Cheese
  • G&G Funnel Cakes
  • Wisconsin Cattlemen's Association
  • Sweets & Treats
  • Emma's Cookie Kitchen
  • Island Noodles
  • Gertrude's Pretzels
  • Charlie's Great Food
  • Waffle Chix
  • Rick's Pizza
  • O'Neil Cheese Curd Tacos

Week 3: Aug. 6-9

  • Mille's Italian Sausage
  • Saz's
  • Lori's Sugar Shack
  • Brad & Harry's Cheese Curds
  • Dr. Vegetable

Week 4: Aug. 13-16

  • Dr. Vegetable 
  • Catalano Old Fashioned Lemonade
  • Hot Wisconsin Cheese

Again, the full lineups will be made available each week before the drive-thru opens, so stay tuned to the State Fair's website for vendors, full menus and pricing.

The Fair food drive-thru will be open Thursdays from 4-8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Go a drive thru with us here.

And in case that's not enough, the beloved summer tradition also announced two other Necessities to help fill the Fair-shaped hole in your life this year: an official online FairWear store and the Wisconsin Products Pavilion Box. The FairWear store will feature official 2020 gear – from t-shirts to hats and even this year's winning Fairtastic art contest poster and postcard – all online exclusives and available for a limited time.

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Products Pavilion Box will deliver several of your favorite items from the State Fair Sconnie shopping spot – including Usinger’s Famous Sausage hickory sticks, Grade A Montmorency Door County dried tart cherries, sea turtle pecan fudge bars from Sherwood's Fabulous Fudge and more – for $68. Plus, if you live in Milwaukee, Ozaukee or Waukesha Counties, you can add on a six-pack of cream puffs for an extra $22. You can order the box online at the Wisconsin State Fair's website

Stay tuned to OnMilwaukee for more Necessities and more ways that the State Fair is thankfully feeling a little less canceled this year. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.