With the New York State Fair just two weeks away, here’s all there is to know about tickets, parking and new events.
“We’ve been working really hard to make this fair exciting. We have a little bit of America 250 element in a lot of the things from our drone show to our sand sculpture to even our state fair pin that we release every year. You’ll see a little bit of that it smattered everywhere in there,” said Julie LaFave, director of the New York State Fair.
Agriculture is a very important piece of the fair, and LaFave highlighted some changes to the staple potato booth located in the Horticulture building.
“For the first time ever, the potato will be guaranteed New York potato from a local farmer, but the sour cream and butter will be New York grown and certified,” LaFave said. “Every product on that potato will be from New York.”
The potatoes will be provided by NY Fresh, LLC, a farm in Wayne County owned by Garrett Williams.
“The New York State Fair is one of the best places to showcase the phenomenal quality of New York agriculture, and this year’s potato booth is a perfect example,” said New York State Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball in a press release.
The largest agricultural industry in New York, the dairy industry, will also be a highlight of this year’s fair, LaFave said.
“We actually have a record number of Holstein entries and exhibitors, the highest number we’ve seen in 10 years, so we’re excited about that,” she said.
The Creative Arts Center will have some new competitions this year, when in the past it was primarily used for food demonstrations.
“You’re going to see other things like fresh cut flowers, or women’s woodworking. There’s going to be a lot more to see and do there,” LaFave said.
On opening day, there will be a ribbon cutting on the new Future Farmers of America building located near the beef barn.
“They’ll have a permanent home here for FFA, not used just during the 13 days of the fair, but also every May when they come here for their annual conference,” LaFave said.
The new FFA building which is still under construction but expected to be ready by the first day of the fair. (Spectrum News 1/Emily Kenny)
The fair will be having Tasty Tuesday on Sept. 1, where vendors will offer samples costing between $3 and $5. A full list of the samples can be found on the fair’s website, but some of the samples available include an octopus pizza slice from Al Forno Ferruzza; the Brown Cow from Blueberries & Lace dessert truck; and a chicken and waffles sample from Funk ‘n Waffles.
There is a full list of concerts on the fair website as well, but LaFave said organizers anticipate opening day will bring in a big crowd.
“Not only do we have All American Rejects, which we expect a lot of people for, across the street, our partners at the amphitheater have Pitbull, so anybody that’s planning on coming out on opening day, get here early, get your parking space, walk in here and relax before the show,” she said.
Chevy Court will have concerts daily at 1 and 6 p.m., and Suburban Park will have a concert at 8 p.m. daily. On the final day of the fair, the concerts will be at noon, 4 and 6 p.m.
The Canine Stars stunt dog show returns to the fair this year. (Spectrum News 1/Emily Kenny)
Some of the new entertainment acts include a three-ring circus and corgi races in the Exposition Center, as well as a jet ski and waterski gymnastics show at the pond located near Suburban Park. There will be returning entertainment acts as well including the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack show and the Canine Stars stunt show.
Fair hours
Operating hours for the New York State Fair are 9-11 p.m. with no entry or re-entry after 9 p.m. The orange lot opens at 9 a.m., and the brown, pink and gray lots open at 6 a.m. The Willis Avenue lot which is used on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and on days with high traffic, will open at 10 a.m.
On the final day of the fair, it will close at 9 p.m. with no entry or re-entry after 8:00 p.m. The Midway will operate from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, except for the last day when it closes at 9 p.m.
Ticket prices
Visitors can purchase tickets for the New York State Fair ahead of arriving at the grounds or at the gates for $8.32 per person. People older than 65 and children 12 and younger are free. Frequent Fairgoer tickets are also available for $25.70 per person – this ticket is only available online.
Parking costs $12.41 per vehicle and can be purchased online, over the phone and at the gate. Upon entering the parking lots, there will be a large QR code so fairgoers can purchase parking with their phone.
A view of the Midway from last year’s State Fair. (Spectrum News 1/Emily Kenny)
Midway tickets are also available to purchase online. Visitors can purchase a “ride all day” wristband, or a “midway mega pass” wristband which allows unlimited rides for every day of the fair. Individual ride tickets are also available for purchase starting at 8 credits for $12. On the last day of the fair, individual rides will cost $1.
Special fair days
August 26 – Opening day
August 27 – Student youth day and SUNY day (SUNY students receive free admission with valid student ID); agriculture career day, STEAM day, and grape day
August 28 – LGBTQ+ Pride day, New Americans day
August 31 – Law enforcement day (Active and retired law enforcement receive free admission with badge or ID upon entry); State parks day (anyone with an empire pass, access pass, lifetime liberty pass or golden park program pass receive free entry); maple day
Sept. 1 – Fire, Rescue and EMS day (any fire, emergency services and EMS agencies receive free admission); beef day, tasty Tuesday
Sept. 2 – Women’s day, sensory friendly day, wacky Wednesday
Sept. 3 – Armed forces day (any active or retired military personnel receive free admission); dairy day, stomp out stigma day
Sept. 4 — Native Americans day (members of any Native American tribe receive free admission)
Sept. 6 – Rhythm & resources job fair
Sept. 7 – Labor Day
Transportation options
The Centro Park-n-Ride will be available again for this year’s fair with pick-up and drop off locations located at the downtown Syracuse Centro Transit hub, Destiny USA and Long Branch Park in Liverpool.
Departure times begin at 8:45 a.m. and run through 8:45 p.m. with drop-off times running through 11:00 p.m. From the downtown hub, the cost is $1 each way, or $0.50 for senior citizens, children ages 6 to 9, and people who have disabilities. From Destiny USA and Long Branch Park, the cost is $2 each way and $1 for senior citizens, children ages 6 to 9 and those living with disabilities. Children under 5 ride for no cost for all locations.
The Oswego County Department of Mobility Management will offer park-n-ride transportation as well with shuttles from the cities of Oswego, Fulton, Central Square and Phoenix. The full shuttle schedule can be found on the fair’s website.
Amtrak will provide train services directly to the fairgrounds as well with routes from New York, Toronto and Niagara Falls. Tickets can be purchased on their website.
Rideshare and taxi pick-up and drop-offs will use a designated area in the pink lot located near gate three of the fairgrounds. Pick-up and drop-off is not allowed at the main gate.
The fair offers a tram service to get around the grounds with nine stops and operates from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. It will have a different route this year and will run in a “horseshoe shape, turning around at Tram Stop #1 now located by Gate 12 (Center of Progress area) and Tram Stop #9 located near the Haudenosaunee Village.”