Geddes, N.Y. — The most closely guarded 800 pounds of butter in Central New York have arrived.
No, it’s not for the baked potatoes.
The butter was delivered to the Dairy Products Building at the New York State Fairgrounds, where sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton have already begun the annual ritual of turning a massive pile of dairy product into one of the fair’s most popular attractions.
What are they making?
Nice try.
The design of the 58th annual New York State Fair butter sculpture will remain a secret until it is unveiled Tuesday, Aug. 25, one day before the fair opens.
Until then, Victor and Pelton are spending their days and nights inside a refrigerated studio, carving, shaping and smoothing 800 pounds of butter while the rest of us are left to guess what’s going on behind the curtain.
They’ve gotten pretty good at keeping secrets.
This is the 24th consecutive state fair butter sculpture for Victor and Pelton, who started their run together in 2003. They expect to spend about 11 days on this year’s creation.
The butter itself comes from O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia. It’s butter that, for a variety of reasons, doesn’t meet specifications for retail sale. Rather than send it to waste, the American Dairy Association North East puts it to considerably more artistic use.
“The butter sculpture has become one of The New York State Fair’s most cherished traditions because it tells the story of our state’s dairy farm families in a way that’s both creative and memorable,” said John Chrisman, CEO of American Dairy Association North East.
The sculpture has been a fair tradition since 1969, when William Clements carved a dairy princess and butter churn.
Over the years, butter has been transformed into everything from disco dancers and marathon runners to Darryl Strawberry, the Wizard of Oz, a pizza tosser and a cow jumping over the moon.
The 2025 New York State butter sculpture was unveiled this morning in the Dairy Products Building. This year’s theme is “Dairy For Good: Nourish. Grow. Thrive.” (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
Twice, actually. Apparently jumping over the moon was worth an encore.
Victor and Pelton took over in 2003 and have handled the job every year since, tackling themes involving dairy farming, nutrition, sports and New York life.
This year’s subject remains under wraps. One thing we do know: The butter has plans after the fair.
When the 13-day run ends, the sculpture will be dismantled and shipped back to Western New York. Noblehurst Farms in Pavilion will feed the used butter into an anaerobic digester, where it will be converted into renewable energy.
The 800 pounds of butter that made the 2025 New York State Fair’s sculpture was stripped away Tuesday and is on its way to becoming energy. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
The farm processes more than 500 tons of food waste each month and generates enough energy to power its operation and more than 300 homes. The butter sculpture alone can produce enough energy to power one house for about three days.
So, to recap: It starts as butter that can’t be sold, spends nearly two weeks posing for thousands of photos and eventually helps keep somebody’s lights on.
That’s a pretty productive retirement.
Before any of that happens, though, Victor and Pelton have 800 pounds of butter, a refrigerated room and a secret to keep.
We’ll find out what they’re up to next Tuesday.
Butter sculptures through the years:
1969: Cow Jumping Over the Moon (William Clements)1970: Dairy Princess and Butter Churn (William Clements)1971: Commissioner of Agriculture and Cow (William Clements)1972: Lifeguard and Girl (William Clements)1973: Dairy Princess Coronation (William Clements)1974: Carousel (William Clements)1975: Juggler (William Clements)1976: Little Miss Muffet (William Clements)1977: The Magic Cow (William Clements)1978: Kids on Skateboards (William Clements)1979: Disco Dancers (William Clements)1980: Milk Run Marathoners (William Clements)1981: The “Real” Seal (William Clements)1982: Dairy Do-Si-Do (William Clements)1983: The Fitness Cycle (William Clements)1984: Milk Bottle Centennial (William Clements)1985: Soccer Player (William Clements)1986: Darryl Strawberry (William Clements)1987: Tom Sawyer (Raymond Mackintosh)1988: Cow Jumping Over the Moon (Raymond Mackintosh)1989: Wizard of Oz (Raymond Mackintosh)1990: Original Fair Arch (Raymond Mackintosh)1991: Boy with Double Dip Cone (Raymond Mackintosh)1992: The Olympic Dream (Raymond Mackintosh)1993: Kids from Camp Good Days & Special Times (Raymond Mackintosh)1994: Pizza Tosser (Raymond Mackintosh)1995: Everybody Loves Milk & Cookies (Duke Epolito)1996: Everything’s Better With Butter (Sharon BuMann)1997: The Ultimate “got milk” Moment (Sharon BuMann)1998: Milk Memories (Sharon BuMann)1999: Midnight Snacking (Sharon BuMann)2000: Little Rascals (Sharon BuMann)2001: Milk Maid: Queen for a Day (Sharon BuMann)2002: The Pride of New York (Sharon BuMann)2003: Mixin’ It With Milk (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2004: Love for the Land (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2005: Milk, Moms and Morning (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2006: Healthy Goals (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2007: Dairy Farming Today (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2008: Cow Jumping Over the Moon (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2009: Cow Power (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2010: Dairyville 2020 (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2011: Feeding Our Future (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2012: New York Goes for the Gold with Greek Yogurt (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2013: Getting Fresh with Local Dairy (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2014: The Great American Milk Drive (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2015: Thanks for the Milk, Moo York! (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2016: Milk Life Celebrates The Success of Team USA and the Athletes of New York State (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2017: Dairy Farmers’ Tribute to New York State Troopers (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2018: Your Milk Comes From A Good Place (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2019: Milk. Love What’s Real (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2020: Nourishing Our Future (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2021: Back to School, Sports and Play … You’re Gonna Need Milk for That (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2022: Refuel Her Greatness—Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Title IX (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2023: Dairy Every Day is a Healthy Way — Keeping Kids’ Health on Track (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2024: Dairy: Good for you. Good for the planet. (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2025: Dairy for Good: Nourish. Grow. Thrive. (Jim Victor and Marie Pelton)2026: TBD