This is a fascinating thread! I wanted to add some thoughts from my area of Minnesota (small, rural farming communities): (SORRY this ended up to be so long!)
It can be really cold up here, from October April. But that doesnt matter, because we grill out whether its steaks, hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, corn-on-the-cob, etc. We would invite our neighbors because were going to grill out.
To me, a barbeque is a sandwich on a bun, which I make with hamburger fried w/onion, salt & pepper, then add tomato soup, ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar. Delicious! I suppose this is the same type of thing as a Manwichbut I dont like that stuff.
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When a group (such as a 4-H group, scout group, church group, etc.) serves a fundraiser lunch at an event, the typical menu would include barbeques, hot dogs, coney dogs (simply a hot dog with barbeque meat on top), potato chips, bars, coffee, water, and pop. Yes, its called pop here. So when you order pop, you tell them you want Mountain Dew, Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Root Beer, Orange, etc.
Our daily meals consist of breakfast, dinner, and supper. If youre on a farm, lunch is something served at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and sometimes it is served out in the field where the farmers are working. Lunch consists of sandwiches, something sweet (bars, cookies, or cake), and lots of cold lemonade.
Church dinners are very popular! Each local church seems to have its own specialty. We have the roast beef dinner, the ham dinner, the turkey dinner, the meatball & lutefisk dinner, etc. Potlucks are also extremely popular. Everyone brings a dish to pass, which could include hot dish (you may know it as a casserole), a salad (jello salad with fruit & cool whip on top, or potato salad, or cole slaw, maybe a lettuce salad), meatballs or sliced ham, cheesy potatoes, calico beans (does everybody know what that is?) and of course any and all types of sweets. The potluck meal would also be served with Kool-Aid and coffee.
When we order pizza, we order a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, etc. Pie here is probably apple, pumpkin, strawberry, banana cream
.you get the picture. Ice cream is very likely Schwans ice cream, whose corporate headquarters are right down the road from where I live.
Even though most of us are Minnesota Nice, we dont generally use the Miss prefix with a name, and we dont often say Yes Sir or Yes Maam. If someone said Yes Maam to me, I would think the same as a couple of the previous posters
.that I must be getting old! And if I didnt hear what was said, I would say what? Which simply means, please repeat what you said. If I said Excuse me? it would probably be meant sarcastically, and that I heard them the first time but simply didnt like what was said.
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Our local area small towns also have their celebrations. In my area we have the following: Aebelskiver Days (Danish settlement); Polska Kielbasa Days (Polish settlement); Belgian-American Days (self-explanatory); Syttendemai Celebration (Norwegian settlement); and others not necessarily named for ethnicity (Old Sod Days, Boxcar Days, Boxelder Bug Days, etc.) These celebrations usually run about three days and include the crowning of a queen, lots of different food stands, softball and golf tournaments, beer gardens and live music, local vendors, and a parade. Of course, almost all of the local celebrations are held in the spring, summer, or fallwhen the weather is decent. An additional notemany of these communities fly the American flag AND the flag of their native land. Or should I say, the flag of those who settled their community. So the Norwegian flag flies, or the Danish flag flies, along with the American.
Brides often have more than one bridal shower, with the big one usually held at her home church. Sometimes wedding dances are open to the public, BYOB with set-ups available. Traditional songs (most often played by the DJ instead of a live band) would include YMCA, the Chicken Dance, the Hokey Pokey, some line dances, etc. There is usually a dollar dance, and an auction for the brides garter is also held sometime during the evening. High school graduation parties are large, open-house events, and almost always held on graduation day. Sometimes we are invited to 12-15 of these celebrations and just go from place to place, visiting, eating, and drinking into the night.
4-H is huge in my area. Its not just for the country kids, as we have lots and lots of town kids also enrolled. So when its county fair time, that is a big deal. And if you are good enough to get a Champion or Reserve Champion Ribbon on your 4-H project, then you win a trip to THE GREAT MINNESOTA GET-TOGETHER, a/k/a the Minnesota State Fair! We are proud of our State Fair! The State Fair is held in the cities. Thats another thing we say
.if we are from outstate Minnesota we must head into the cities for the State Fair or a Gophers game, a Vikings game, or a Twins game. Of course that means to Minneapolis, St. Paul, or really any of the suburbs.
One more thing----on the weekends, lots and lots of people go to the lakewhen the weather is decent. We have so many lakes here, so that could mean ANY lakeits just a general statement. And if you dont have a lake cabin, you probably have friends or family who have a lake cabin you can visit, or you have a camper that you park at a local campground or State Park. Or sometimes we will say, Were going up north for the weekend. Up north just means that we are headed to Northern Minnesota. To us, were headed south if were going to Iowa!
We most often said, *Sha, little heart*.
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we sound different from others in the state ( not sure why)
It's called 
