The 2024 Great New York State Fair will kick off Aug. 21 and run through Labor Day on Sept. 1. Here is everything you need to know about the 13-day event.
New to the fair this year
“We’ve lined ourselves up for one of the most diverse and far-reaching activities and entertainment for all ages,” said State Fair Director Julie Lafave.
The New York State Fair is now a certified sensory-friendly fair, Lafave said.
“On top of that, we are going to have a sensory day so the only Tuesday of the fair from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., we’re going to turn the lights down, turn the music down, not just us but the Midway, all of the vendors who sometimes play music, we’re asking everyone to do their part,” she said.
Also on that Tuesday, the fair vendors will be participating in Tasty Tuesday.
“I know food can get really expensive at the fair, so I know the Midway, they’re going to have $2 samples of food, but other food vendors are going to have samples anywhere from $1 to $5,” LaFave said.
A new ride that the fair ordered in 2020 has finally arrived and will be unveiled this year called the Big Fun Glass House, Lafave said.
After many years without one, there will be an adult volleyball tournament and a two-day cornhole tournament. Participants can sign up online.
“It’s in a space that was previously unused that we’re now going to slowly over the next few years transform into 13 days of adult tournament,” Lafave said.
Admission ticket and parking passes
Admission tickets for the fair are now available online for $8.32, when purchased at the gate tickets cost $8. Parking will be $12.41, both an increase of $2 from last year. The 13-day pass is available online for $25.70.
No cash will be accepted at the parking lots, only credit cards will be accepted. The fee breaks down to $12 for parking, $0.14 ticket fee and $0.27 for a credit card fee. E-Z Pass will not work for parking this year.
Seniors over 65 and children under 12 will still be able to enter the fair free of charge. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Day, Law Enforcement Day and Armed Forces Day will be free for members of those groups.
On the second day of the fair, Thursday, Aug. 22, those with an Empire Pass for New York State Parks can get in for free, Lafave said.
Tickets for the Midway are available online with a 13-day pass costing $95 each. Daily ride passes are $31.25 each.
Centro will offer transportation from the transit hub downtown, Long Branch Park in Liverpool and Destiny USA. One-way tickets cost $1 for adults, $0.50 for seniors, children and people with disabilities. Children under 6 are free.
New to the fair this year, Oswego County Department of Mobility Management will offer free rides. On Aug. 24, rides will be given from Fulton and Oswego and on Aug. 31 from Central Square and Phoenix.
In addition, Amtrak and Trailways of New York will provide rides to the fairgrounds.
Fair hours
The State Fair will be operating daily from 9 a.m.-11 p.m. The buildings are open daily from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and the Midway operates from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. On Labor Day, the fairgrounds will close at 9 p.m.
Guest relations, which has four sites throughout the grounds, will be open 9 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily. Vendors will stop pouring alcohol at 10:30 p.m. and at 8:30 p.m. on Labor Day.
Special Fair Days
Aug. 21: Opening Day
Aug. 22: Student Youth Day and Agriculture Career Day
Aug. 23: Pride Day, New Americans Day and Family Fishing Day
Aug. 26: Law Enforcement Day and Maple Day
Aug. 27: Fire, Rescue and EMS Day and Beef Day
Aug. 28: Women’s Day
Aug. 29: Armed Forces Day and Dairy Day
Aug. 30: Native Americans Day
Sept. 2: Labor Day
Attendance Expectations
While attendance isn’t something that the State Fair aims for, other events on the fairgrounds have seen a large turnout.
“The New York State Fairgrounds is a year-round event center, so we have been seeing events happening here essentially since the fair ended last year and a lot of our partners who have their events here have been seeing very large crowds,” Lafave said.
Going off that trend, they expect larger crowds.
“But that said, we’re focusing on the quality of what we see here,” she said.
Concerts
Many concerts will be happening at the State Fair this year, including Dropkick Murphys, Megan Moroney, Flo Rida, Chevelle, and some of the classics like Chubby Checker and Herman’s Hermits.
“We definitely have a few concerts that we think will draw large crowds but that said, we think they’re all important,” Lafave said.
She is proud to have a diverse lineup of different genres like country, hip hop, and R&B.
There are a couple of nights of the fair where there will be a concert at the Lakeview Amphitheater and the fairgrounds that could lead to traffic delays. Those dates include Aug. 23, 24, and 29, for updates look at our interactive traffic map.
Agriculture exhibits and highly pathogenic avian influenza
The voice of the farmer garden — an exhibit that highlights crops grown in New York — will return this year.
“We essentially built that from seed to plant last year in about six weeks, but this year, it is overflowing with plants and we introduced new hops in there and other new native crops,” Lafave said.
There are many competitions at the New York State Fair from livestock shows to quilting contests to baking competitions.
“We added a new sponsorship component to our agriculture competitions, and we did that in an effort to essentially reward people and encourage them to participate,” Lafave said.
Winners of the competitions receive a premium depending on how they place, and this sponsorship has allowed the fair to raise those premiums.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza has been a concern for poultry producers and more recently, dairy farmers.
“Lactating dairy cattle have to be tested within a week of coming and if they test positive, they obviously won’t come to the fair,” Lafave said.
There will be hand washing stations and sanitizing areas within the barns and Lafave said they are encouraging people to continue to wash their hands after interacting with livestock.
Policy updates
Smoking and vaping are not allowed anywhere on the fairgrounds, however, there will be designated areas outside of Gates 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11A.
Guests entering the fairgrounds must go through a bag check with a metal detector or manually check the bags.
One update to fair policies this year is no entry or re-entry after 9 p.m. In previous years, it was 10 p.m.
“Nobody will be admitted starting at 9 p.m., the fair starts closing up around 10:30 p.m. so we feel people coming in at 10, you only have 30 minutes left to spend at the fair so that’s why we’ve made that decision,” Lafave said.
