Dave Jacobs, owner of Shirt World in Syracuse, has been at the New York State Fair for more than 40 years.

But this year, he and hundreds of other vendors are losing out on that business, as Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that this year’s fair has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

What You Need To Know


  • State fair's cancellation creates financial loss for local and state economy

  • Plans for an 18-day long festival are being pushed off until 2021

  • Ten thousand tickets have already been sold and can be refunded or used for 2021

 

“We’ve been out there for years and we’re gonna miss it,” said Jacobs. “We will miss the connections and miss the relationships.”

The cancellation comes after one of the most successful years at the fair, setting another attendance record with more than 1 million people. That led to an announcement that the fair would be five days longer, possibly creating more opportunity for revenue growth with an 18-day long festival.

“It’s a loss,” said New York State Fair Director Troy Waffner. “It’s a hard loss in a lot of ways to not do it this year. That said, we totally understand, and the governor was 100 percent right in looking at the data and saying there’s probably not a way we can do this safety.

“I think the governor said it best: It hurts him personally – I think it hurts all of us personally – but it’s something that had to be done.”

Even without last year’s success, the fair consistently creates a boost for the economy that Governor Cuomo said can be felt throughout the state. Local officials say they benefit greatly from sales tax.

“There’s lots to be had at the fair,” said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon. “There’s lots of fun, there’s a lot of eating, there’s a lot of cervezas, as they say, in some of the areas in the wine slushy areas. There’s a lot of good commerce taking there.

“Huge economic impact, huge blow to what people like to do with their social lives locally, but also a huge blow to our economy.”

Despite the loss, fair officials say the health and safety of the public comes first. And with a jump start to planning next year’s fair, they hope to make the 409-day wait worth it.

“There's not a lot of predictions I would make in life, but 2021 is gonna be a fair that knocks your socks off. Maybe we’ll do a promotional day that’s ‘knocks your socks off day’ to get in for free,” said Waffner.

Officials say they sold around 10,000 tickets for this year’s fair. Those can be refunded or used in 2021.

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