State Fair Hound readers have read many posts advocating for careful planning of their trips to the New York State Fair before going. No doubt, it greatly enhances your chances of maximizing your enjoyment once you enter the grounds.
Well, Fair fans, it’s time to start planning as the Fair has posted daily schedules for the 2024 edition on the official website. Many favorite features from years past will return while new acts are few. Here are some highlights:
Those amazing mechanical dinosaurs will return to inhabit the Exposition Center for all 13 days. For those who stood in line for the Expo Center to open last year, here’s a tip. You can walk in at any time, so there’s no point to standing in line awaiting the 10 a.m. opening.
Sea Lion Splash will be back in the Family Fun Zone, performing daily at 1, 4 and 6 p.m.
The awe-inspiring Hawk Creek Wildlife Center birds of prey are winging in from the Finger Lakes region for what has become a perennial favorite with Fair patrons of all ages. The feathered superstars are featured daily at 11 a.m., 2:15 and 4:30 p.m.
The small-but-mighty Circus Hollywood will be back with big-time, big-top entertainment daily at 11 a.m., 2 and 7 p.m. A petting zoo and the racing pigs will come along.
Eco-magician Steve Trash returns for his third straight year, performing on the Empire Theater stage in the Art and Home center at 11 a.m., 3 and 5 p.m.
The cast of wandering entertainers is headlined by the inimitable Hilby, the Skinny German Juggle Boy. 
He will perform daily at 11:15 a.m., 2:30 and 5 p.m. from Tuesday, Aug. 27 through Labor Day.
The Groovy Guy, a juggler with a quirky sense of humor returns after wowing crowds in his Fair debut last year. He’ll play the first half of the Fair, from opening day through Monday, Aug. 26, at 11:15 a.m., 2:30 and 5 p.m. each day. Hilby and Groovy will both perform outside the Science and Industry Building, near Chevy Court.
Also strolling the grounds will be one-man band Bandoloni, Rock-It the Robot and the Strolling Piano.
One new act is the Nerveless Nocks Sway Pole acrobatic show in Central Park daily at Noon, 3 and 5 p.m.The best news is that all of the entertainers named above are free for everyone who passes through the gates of the 2024 New York State Fair.
Numerous infrastructure changes, primarily planned to house and display livestock, were projected for this year, but we haven’t seen or heard about new barns or buildings, aside from the rebuilt Basilio Sausage stand.
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