Six-Nations vendors offer a variety of terrific Fair souvenirs, many of them handmade, every day from their huts in the Iroquois Village. These dreamcatchers dangle in the sunshine in this Nick LoPresti photo.
Category: Around the grounds (Page 10 of 12)
When it’s time to eat at the new York State Fair—and it’s pretty much always time to eat—you can find sausage or steak sandwiches, fried dough, burgers and French fries everywhere. If you’re looking for something a little different and just as tasty, the Pan African Village offers a delicious change of pace.
This year, in addition to Gwen’s soul food, island hopping at La Delicias and Bongo’s spicy jerk entrees, Creole Soul Café has arrived with a taste of New Orleans. 
Local chef and restaurateur Darren Chavis, whose hosts a downtown eatery of the same name, is serving up traditional Cajun and creole dishes like gumbo and red beans and rice, and plenty of hearty choices from catfish and gator to crawfish and shrimp. This isn’t Chavis’ first Mardi Gras, as the bayou-born chef had been stirring the Nawlins pot for many years prior to taking up residence in the old Dey Brothers Building.
Creole Soul fits perfectly as part of the eclectic and exotic Pan African Village, which this Fair celebrates 20 years located between the Center of Progress and the Art and Home Center, 
just inside the new gate 11a, near tram stop 2.
In addition to terrific ethnic cuisine, there’s a steady stream of live entertainment and several boutique tents of jewelry, crafts, gifts and collectibles. Though emphasizing African and Caribbean cultures, everyone is warmly welcomed to this not-to-be-missed Fair locale.
State Fair Hound photographer Nick LoPresti managed to dodge this determined driver as he crashed through traffic on the bumper cars.
You never know what you may see as you wander around the New York State Fair. State Fair Hound offers these examples.
The Big Yellow Fellow takes riders for a peddle-powered ride up Broadway and back, serving snacks and samples along the way. Trips, which start near the kiddie midway are five bucks per adult.
Flamingo stilt riders draw startled looks and photo flashes wherever they’re seen.
An exhibitor soaps up her goat for competition.
If your Fair experience isn’t complete without watching the amazing and wacky antics of Hilby, your time has arrived. The self-proclaimed Skinny German Juggle Boy made his 2016 debut Monday afternoon, his full complement of wild tricks and playful patter in tow. Hilby’s act is unparalleled fun, the first time or the hundredth.
Look for him at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in front of the Science and Industry Building.
The Hound would be hard pressed to name a change at the New York State Fair that drew as passionate an outcry from patrons as moving the New York State Wine Court out of the colonnade area did in 2008. It’s back in its traditional spot 
between the Science and Industry Building and the Dairy Building for the third year now and proving to be a popular stop for oenophiles and Fair patrons looking for an adult treat.
The official title is the Taste NY Wine, Beer and Spirits Village and it’s a creative use of a unique space, using permanent stands and tents with seating nearby where visitors can match a meal with their vino. Some partiers enjoy grooving to the music from Chevy Court while quaffing their favorite beverage. What wine goes with deep-fried mac and cheese, anyway?
You may have heard that the paved midway space has been expanded to 15 acres, but you have to see the massive new lot to believe it. Prepare yourself for the wow factor as you first approach the new area.
It now hosts 75 to 78 rides, more than ever erected for the New York State Fair, 
most on freshly-paved blacktop with more space between rides and more room for riders to wait in lines. Electrical cables are buried beneath the pavement, so you won’t be tripping over them and strollers and wheelchairs roll freely, although there are some areas with gravel underfoot. Storm drains will reduce flooding on rainy days.
Let’s not knock the old midway—there were so many exciting adventures there over the years. But the Strates Shows people and then the Wade Shows folks had to lay out their rides and games on a triangular parking lot that served the purpose, but was far from ideal. The new pad allows for so much more flexibility and creativity. 
It’s more like a year-round amusement park.
For some it may be too sterile, lacking in that old-school charm and retro appeal of the past. But more rides, wider walkways and a glitzier look will make most midway mavens very happy.
The Lottery Pavilion was demolished as part of the Fairgrounds makeover, so the Lottery was relocated to the southeast corner of the Coliseum, across from the dairy cattle building. A mechanical bull 
challenged riders to rodeo up in that spot last year.
The traditional State Fair parade 
will be held on six of the 12 days this year, a change from past years when it kicked off daily.
The route will also change, still starting at Chevy Court before taking it the length of the new road the Fair is calling Broadway, pictured below during Syracuse Nationals.
Another new wrinkle calls for a grand marshal to lead to procession of marching bands, emergency vehicles, street performers and animals. 
The parade steps off at 6 p.m. Aug. 26, 29, 30 and 31 and Sep. 1 and 2.
Chevy Court itself hasn’t changed much since last year. The stage, backstage building and lawn—amazingly green for our weather conditions
–lined with metal benches are returning.
What’s not coming back are the hot tubs, food stands and exhibitors that once ringed the court. That purging, suggested by State Fair Hound in our Sep. 22, 2015 post Full Court Pressure, creates more concert fan space with fewer obstructions, something that has been badly needed for years.
Look for the immensely popular Dinosaur Bar-B-Que stand to be relocated next year, opening up more fan space for concerts. 
“We did talk to Steve Davis, the owner of the Dinosuar Bar-B Que Stand,” Acting Director Troy Waffner revealed. “We’re actually talking to him about relocating off Chevy Court for the 2017 Fair and finding a home equally prominent for him.”