In recent years, the New York State Fair has made a push to showcase the ethnic diversity of the Empire State. With the Pan African Village firmly established as a particularly popular Fair locale, the Latino Village has been ramping up for the past five Fairs.

This year the Asian Village jumped in for the first four days with vendors, music and dance. As with its predecessors, its vendors and exhibitors will need some time to promote familiarity with patrons.

When it comes to Fair fans, food is always a good place to start. Asian village cuisine shined with a tasty variety that included stir fry options and an exotic coconut drink that seemed to catch on quickly.

This year Latino and Asian shared space near the Youth Building and Talent Showcase stage, but future Fairs must let both grow into more established spots to allow visitors to know where they are and what they offer in terms of entertainment, food and exhibits. That way they can make their marks as their Pan African counterparts have done.

Life-like dinosaurs inhabited the Expo Center throughout the recently-concluded New York State Fair,   which kept the cavernous building swarming with kids all 13 days. But two smaller acts were also great new additions as Lady Houdini and Groovy Guy presented circus-like talents several times each day.

Lady Houdini did daring escapes reminiscent of her iconic namesake, culminating in her breaking free of chains and emerging from a water tank. Groovy did a little juggling while keeping up a constant patter of jokes and wisecracks, before walking on a rope held by audience members, which was not dangerous but was very impressive.

These performers, combined with other grounds entertainment effectively make the case for viewing State Fair admission and parking charges as trivial when you consider the overall bang for the buck.

While returning favorites are essential to loyal Fair fans, a variety of new acts every year brings another dimension and encourages people to attend more than once in order to catch all of the shows. It’s a winning formula for the Fair and its customers.

We can’t wait to see what comes next.

A new special day has cropped up on the schedule of the 2023 New York State Fair as apples join other major Empire State agricultural products with their own day of honor. The official state fruit will be celebrated in the Horticulture Building on Apple Day, Saturday, Sep, 2 with apple-related trivia, games, samples and giveaways.

Meanwhile, other popular daily specials including Dairy Day, Native Americans Day, Pride Day and Women’s Day will return, beginning with Governor’s Day, Aug. 23.

Don’t forget that, despite increased ticket prices, every day is Senior Citizen Day as everyone age 65 and over will be admitted free.

Organizers of the New York State Fair get a lot of requests from patrons and you have to give them credit for responding when possible. There is certainly more seating around the grounds now than in years past. Walking lanes are wider and more easily navigated. There’s more parking, more free musical entertainment and more rest rooms. All are improvements.

This year’s big push is the addition of green space, like this one on the site of the old sheep barn, dubbed Goat Park. The familiar pole-barn structure was demolished after being damaged in a storm over the winter (Barn Razing, May, 12, 2019).

It’s one of several new spots where visitors can get off the hot pavement for a relaxing few minutes on grass. Not only do the mini-parks provide oases for weary travelers, they add aesthetic beauty to the grounds. You might say the Fair looks good in green.

Lively music, spicy cuisine and colorful arts will highlight Latin Weekend at the New York State Fair.

It’s a recent addition to the Fair itinerary that has caught on, taking place in the New York Experience area. Free entertainment will play from the stage while fans can stroll the grassy pasture in search of exotic foods and unusual gifts.

It’s opening day of the 2019 New York State Fair.

Day one is a great day to crash the gates to find your traditional Fair favorites, plus a first look at what’s new for the 173rd edition of the nation’s oldest state fair.

Now on a Wednesday, opening day isn’t usually too crowded, while everything is fresh and bright. Enthusiasm runs high for vendors and exhibitors, so fans can enjoy a great day, knowing that there will be 12 more to follow.

Both major stages–venerable Chevrolet Court and the upstart Experience Stage–each loaded with free concerts–are bookends to a festival grounds filled with colorful thrills and delicious food.

The 2019 New York State Fair is open. Get there!

The sky over the New York State Fairgrounds will explode in celebration of Independence Day as part of a new event on July 4th and 5th.  “Fourth (and Fifth) A’Fair” brings kid-friendly carnival rides, food and music, before culminating with a fireworks display. The event takes place from 2 – 10 p.m. on Thursday and from 1 – 10 p.m. on Friday outside the Exposition Center. Admission and parking are free.

The festival will feature about a dozen carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a fun house, a merry-go-round and an Avengers-themed ride, as well as carnival games. All-you-can-ride wristbands are available for $25 and include a youth admission to the upcoming Salt City Comic Con and admission to the 2019 Great New York State Fair.

Those in attendance can win a great prize–a lifetime pass to the Fair.

Food vendors will offer carnival foods from barbecue to cotton candy.

The Friday fireworks will blast off at 9:30, following performances by Zac Robinson, Sera Bullis and Chasing Neon.