MICHIGAN STATE FAIR GUIDE Fair opens today Check out the new, the favorites and the unexpected

The fair is here! The fair is here!

The ribbon at the Michigan State Fair gets snipped today at 12:15 p.m., which means it's time to watch piglets race, gawk at calves being birthed and stuff saltwater taffy into sweet-craving mouths.

But there's more.

Alice Cooper rocks out Thursday. R&B singer Ginuwine, who crooned, "Is there any room for me in those jeans?" will unleash his sexy self on Friday at the Band Shell. There'll be Twisted Sister, Three Dog Night, Morris Day & the Time, and Raven of "The Cosby Show" and Disney Channel fame.

There's even more.

The Anastasinis perform several times a day, a 7,000-square-foot maze awaits inside an inflatable giant, and a motivational magician plans to serve tips and tricks.

The fair runs through Sept. 4. It will probably attract more than the estimated 300,000 to 450,000 people it has drawn because most public schools start after Labor Day, says John Hertel, general manager of the Michigan State Fair.

There's much more inside the 164 acres and you'll need this guide to find out what's new, which favorites are coming back, which contests you can enter and most important, what fun you can have.