The Great New York State Fair

*MUSIC UPDATE* Halestorm August 31st at 8:00PM!

'We built this Fair city on rock n roll' Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas will help build our city August 27th!

The educationally-rich, interactive, & immersive drive-thru dino experience is here! Created w/ a real paleontologist, Dino Safari utilizes an engaging story to seamlessly integrate exciting thrills & real science that the whole fam will enjoy. Dinosafari.com for tickets

Dino Safari is officially open! Get your tickets now at dinosafari.com

Our friends at The Ice Farm are getting ready for the new Ice Sculpting Masters event that opens at the Fairgrounds next week. All of this ice, and more, will become dozens of sculptures for this drive-thru event. Tickets here: https://maingatetickets.com/events/view/846

We are sad today over the loss of a dear friend and colleague. Naomi Blumenthal ran the Fair's annual horse shows and hosted her own as a promoter for more than 40 years. She was the first name in horse shows in the region and her skills led her to national prominence in her field, most recently as the current President of the National Professional Horsemen's Association. She might have been the first in the nation to bring computers into the barns to manage horse shows. Our thoughts are with her family and the scores of horse show riders and fans who benefited from her wisdom and skill as a mentor, teacher and promoter.

The Fair mourns the loss of the great Charley Pride, the first Black country music superstar. He was 86 and died of complications from COVID-19. It's nowhere near as notable as his more than 50 country hits, including the pop chart #1 "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'," his many awards, or his status as the first Black performer inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, but he will forever be a part of the Fair's history. He was the very first paid concert on the old Grandstand in 1976. Tickets were $6 and $3. It was his second appearance here, after a two-day stint on what was then called Empire Court in 1973.

NEWS! An exciting new event is coming to the Fairgrounds. Ice Sculpting Masters brings 150,000 pounds of ice to the Fairgrounds Dec. 30- Jan. 3. Drive thru an area of more than 90 ice sculptures, from small to massive. $20 per car. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/422962235403303/ Tickets here: https://maingatetickets.com/events/view/846

The Fair sends its deepest condolences to the family of Harold Wheeler, who died recently at age 83. Harold joined the Fairgrounds staff in 1958 and retired 43 years later. His son, Harry, followed his father's footsteps to a career at the Fair. The photo below is from 2001, when he (in the white cap) was honored as one of the Fair's employees of the year. You can read his full obituary here: https://www.gatesfuneralhome.com/obituary/Harold-Wheeler

The Fair sends its condolences to the family of Paul Basilio, who ran Basilio Sausage for 61 years and was ever-present at the family's stand on Restaurant Row until he retired in 2018. His obituary gets it just right: "His food-stand was a long time staple of the New York State Fair, being the 2nd oldest restaurant represented there, and Mr. Basilio was the oldest living Concessionaire at the State Fair, last working and laughing with their customers in 2018. Mr. Basilio wa...s a man of small stature, but HUGE heart, living life fully and leaving his daughter and grandchildren with memories and stories to tell for many years to come." Fair Director Troy Waffner offered this appreciation: Paulie was one of a kind, an old-school character and an icon of the Fair. I remember finding him doing repairs on the roof of the stand one day, and he was well into his 80s by then. When you think of the Fair, one of the things you think of first is a sausage sandwich. Paulie and his family are a big part of the reason for that. We will miss him and we send our heartfelt condolences to his family. See a video from the stand here: https://business.facebook.com/nysfair/videos/1237973776555845/

You are not alone. If you’re experiencing abuse, advocates are standing by to help. #DomesticViolenceAwarenessMonth #NYGoesPurple4DV

Congratulations to the winners of our Craziest Fair Food Contest! We had so many inspirational food concoctions, our judges had a tough time choosing! 1st Place: Monica Merritt- "The Salty Spud Stick" 2nd Place: Sharon VanDerlinde- "Funnel Cake Tacos with Mac and Cheese" 3rd Place: Tony Briseno- "The Cotton Candy Donut"... Each of our winners will receive a gift card to Fried Specialties at The Fair along with their Fair prizes! Thank you to our judges: Jim Hasbrouck with Fried Specialties Charlie Miller with syracuse.com Mark Pawliw with Farm to Fork 101

Our hearts are with the family and friends of rock guitar great Eddie Van Halen, who died today of cancer at age 65. A master of the guitar who never learned to read music, he told Rolling Stone magazine he just wanted to play so that people would feel something. These pictures show Eddie at Van Halen's only appearance at the Fair, August 31, 1998. You can read an appreciation of his life and career here: https://www.rollingstone.com//music-news/eddie-van-halen-/

The Butcher Boys are back in town this weekend (Thursday Oct 8-Sunday Oct 11)!! Enter through Gate 7 to get to The Grey Lot. Open 11:00AM-9:00PM London Broil Steak Sandwich or Pita Gianelli's Italian Sausage Sandwich... Greek AND Chicken Gyros Chicken Tender Basket with fresh cut fries Millennium Chips Cotton Candy Monster Bag Fried Pickles Blooming Onions with Pedal Sauce Fresh Cut Fries - toppings: cheese, bacon, ranch Fresh Baked Pizza by the Slice or Pie - classic cheese, pepperoni or not so classic but delicious Dill Pickle Pizza GIANT Mozzarella Cheese on a Stick Fresh Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies Corn Dogs Funnel Cakes Fried Dough Fried Oreo's - toppings: powdered sugar, cinnamon/sugar, Reeses, strawberries See more

The Butcher Boys and Company are back for another weekend at The Great New York State Fairgrounds serving up some of the BEST Fair Food Favorites. From your Classic Fair Food like London Broil Steak Sandwiches to Blooming Onions!! Thursday October 8th - Sunday October 11th 11:00am-9:00PM Grey Lot Enter through Gate 7

Congratulations to Rebecca Mattison for winning our Fair At Home Contest in a random draw! The amount of time, effort and creativity that went into each of these submissions is truly impressive and humbling! Thank you everyone for sharing your Fair's at home with us!

Congratulations to Ashley Brown who won our Craziest Fair Fan Contest with 530 Votes! Read her story below: The Fair is far more than just any state fair for me. It is a lifetime of memories, the endless family traditions, and the ability to share my love for this yearly event with so many friends. I light up when asked about The Fair, just like you would over a newborn or your great love. Among my friends, family, and new acquaintances, I am the un-official tour guide to T...Continue reading

Orange Lot Madness is happening this Saturday (Sept 26th) only from 12pm-9pm! Get your fair food fix before it is gone!

Congratulations to the winners of our 2020 NYSFair T-Shirt contest! First Place- Nick Brown: 2020 Technical Difficulties Second Place- John Landers: The Virtual Fair 2020 Third Place- LL Shafer: Colorful State Fair ... Winners were based off the public's votes!

Congratulations to the winners of our 2020 NYSFair T-Shirt contest! First Place- Nick Brown: 2020 Technical Difficulties Second Place- John Landers: The Virtual Fair 2020 Third Place- LL Shafer: Colorful State Fair ... Winners were based off the public's votes!

Kane Brown Sat, September 26 8:00pm - 10:30pm in The Orange Lot Drive-in! Check out NOW to save $20 Sale ends this Friday at 11:59pm Very limited amount available ... https://nysfairgrounds.ny.gov//encore-drive-in-nights-feat

Our friends at American Dairy Association North East know how to put on a butter sculpture! Along with the awesome sculptures who work every year with a whopping 800 pounds of butter to make our NYSFair traditions come alive year after year! Check out this article about our artists in the Philly Inquirer! https://www.inquirer.com//butter-sculpture-pennsylvania-fa