HAMBURG, N.Y. — A favorite summer event is around the corner.

What You Need To Know

  • The Erie County Fair returns in-person in two weeks

  • Vendors on Wednesday showed off their new edible creations

  • Tickets will only be sold online this year
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After a year filled with cancellations and postponements due to the pandemic, the 181st Erie County Fair returns in two weeks. 

Vendors on Wednesday showed off their new edible creations they'll be selling at this year's Erie County Fair. This was something they could not do last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Linda Lund says the late summer months are the busiest, and not having the Erie County Fair among other events was not easy.

"It was very scary and you had to come up with something,” Linda Lund, co-owner of Babcia's Pierogi, said. “So we really adjusted and had to do a lot of drive-ups.”

Salvatore Butera, who owns Salvatore's Pizza, agrees, saying the postponement was emotional. 

"It was really hard,” Butera said. “When you look at the big picture of not only the economy but the family that this fair offers Western New York.”

Now the Erie County Fair is now just two weeks away. Jessica Underberg, the Erie County Fair CEO and manager, says she's can't wait.

"I can't wait to see people's smiles coming through the gate,” Underberg said. “People enjoying time with family and friends. We've missed it. We've all missed it. It's Western New York's biggest event.”

All the fair favorites will return, including 20 new foods to try.

But the fair will look a little bit different this year, with wider aisles and a different layout to help with social distancing.

Underberg says since the day the fair was announced, fair staff have worked through continuous changes to the fair to encompass COVID-19 regulations — the latest being new masking regulations to combat the delta variant. But Underberg says they will follow any new regulations.

"I joked with our staff at one of our staff meetings everybody should bring a yoga mat because the best thing we can be is flexible. And our staff has done that," Underberg said. 

Vendors and organizers are excited to see their fair loving family back at the fairgrounds starting August 11.

Keep in mind tickets will only be sold online this year. Tickets are valid any one day of the fair.