You know the New York State Fair has reached the midway point every year when the perennial oldies concert by Herman’s Hermits has ended and one-man circus Hilby has begun his traditional three-a-days. Well, Peter Noone and his Brit mates played Monday afternoon and Hilby is juggling his pins, tossing his torches and peddling his unicycle in front of the Science and Industry Building, so we’re about there—seven down and six to go. 
Blessed with mostly good-enough weather, the Fair is rolling along smoothly for the most part. The 4-H horse barn—now closed for the year–was a terrific addition, the Nerveless Nocks pole-climbing act, not so much. It was good to see Groovy Guy back and the dinosaurs, the birds of prey and the Sea lions are as popular as ever. The new village set-up for the Asian and Latino cultural fairs is a definite improvement. The Hound can’t help but wonder why there are fewer benches at Chevy Court this year. Security staff has been asked, but they say they don’t know.
Aside from a rainy opening day, the low point so far was the huge traffic jam on the afternoon of Aug. 24. It wasn’t the result of a massive crowd at the New York State Fair. Fair attendance was an entirely manageable 83,240. So why the mess? It’s because the nitwits who run the amphitheater on the other side of I-690 held a concert that night.
As you’ve been hearing from The hound for several years, this is the definition of insanity. Two large events that depend upon the same roadways for access and the same lots for parking, running simultaneously will inevitably sow chaos. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again, perhaps on Aug.29, when the same dueling-events scenario comes up.
Central New York weather is generally conducive to outdoor concerts from late spring to mid-fall, roughly four months every year. The State Fair runs for 13 days of those four months. The corporate money-grubbers who run the amp have demonstrated in many ways over the years that they have no regard for the convenience and safety of their patrons. So we shouldn’t hold out hope that they’ll change their ways. It’s time for State and County government to exert influence to put concerts on hold during the Fair.
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