OK, critics of the New York State Fair, you asked for it. If there’s anyone left complaining that it’s always the same old thing, the addition of a full-sized ice rink in the new Exposition Center should put that criticism to rest.

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who asked for an ice rink during the end-of-summer extravaganza, but the one guy who did want it often gets his way. EXPO RENDERING“The Governor wanted something new and different and we’ve never ice skated at the Fair,” explained Acting Director Troy Waffner in a recent chat with State Fair Hound. “So we’re putting in an NHL-sized rink just for the 13 days of the Fair. We’re going to have a hockey tournament, figure skating, curling, a broomball tournament, speed skating, sled hockey, a silent disco and and a wedding on ice. We’re also going to have open skating. We have 600 pairs of skates for people to use.”

A rink in the Coliseum provided a winter home for many a youth and recreational hockey game in years past, but a Fair-time ice surface will make frigid history. It may be an off-the-wall idea, but it sure ain’t the “same old Fair.”