Wonder how many State Fair fans have a tree like this one. Merry Christmas.

When your trek around the New York State Fair leaves you needing a break, take a comfortable seat in the air-conditioned demonstration kitchen on the lower level of the Art and Home Center. Various local chefs–some of them celebrities–take a turn behind the counter in a state-of-the-art kitchen, offering culinary tips, recipes and entertainment. Maybe you can get ideas to improve your own cooking skills while getting off your feet for a while.

If you’re lucky, handouts and samples may be on the menu for your visit. The full schedule of who’s cooking and what ‘s being prepared is generally posted outside the building entrance as well as on the Fair website.

The State Fair marvel that’s known as the Agricultural Museum is famous for its fine collection of antique plows, hoes, milking machines and many other farming tools, but also hosts many fascinating demonstrators.

One great such classroom features wooden implements, hand-made the old fashioned way. Lathes, saws, and chisels, when held in skilled hands, turn out some beautiful, as well as functional items.

Whatever you see is sure to beat modern plastic junk. It’s one excellent example of how high-tech and modern isn’t always best.

Families can spend a fortune at the New York State Fair, no doubt about it. But just as certainly, there’s so much to enjoy that’s free. No-charge attractions include some true Fair icons, from the butter sculpture to the wild birds from Hawk Creek to the sand sculpture.

Live entertainment shows often include a complete circus, the beloved sea lion show, demonstrations by the State Police and the incomparable Hilby.

Down at the Iroquois Village, the colorful history of native dancers is a show you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Don’t forget the parades, the mini-golf green and the hands-on fun of the State Parks area. Most kids get a kick out of touring some of the livestock barns, reaching out to pet a goat or watching baby piglets crowd around their mother at meal time. While watching calves being born isn’t for everybody, those adorable newborns are hugely popular.

That’s just scratching the surface. Plan ahead by checking State Fair Hound and the official State Fair website for all of the free highlights.

The Horticulture Building is again hosting the SkyRiver Butterflies at the New York State Fair. The colorful array of species from around the world surrounds visitors to the tent   It’s almost as much fun to watch the kids enjoy the graceful insects that flitter around them as to watch the ‘flies themselves. It’s the best two-dollar expenditure on the grounds.

The State Parks area–that tree-shaded green space that surrounds the reflecting pool and picnic grounds–always has terrific displays on camping, boating, wildlife and all things outdoor. Twin buildings at the front end house a tourism center and a parks gift shop. You can’t help but leave with renewed enthusiasm for hiking, tenting or dropping a line in a New York Park.

The kids can putt a few cost-free holes on the green or build a bluebird house as Mom and Dad take a break at a picnic table or park bench. In the corner fronting the International Pavilion you can enjoy the piney scent and graceful beauty of the Christmas Tree display. Don’t miss the wreath-making demos.

During the heyday of the antique carriages, wagons and buggies that are displayed in the Carriage Museum, you couldn’t just pull into a garage for service. You had to employ a hardworking, skilled craftsman to fabricate metal parts and make repairs. The blacksmith shop located at the back of the museum serves as a charming reminder of how tough that job can be as demonstrators pound away at the anvil and tend the fire to provide that lesson.

It’s a scene worth reviewing when you’re nearby. The Carriage Museum is right next to the Agriculture Museum, near Restaurant Row. Admission is free and there are benches for visitors.

Ahoy, sailors, fishing buffs and history students. Be sure to drop anchor on the shore of the New York Experience pond every day of the new York State Fair for a new nautical exhibit from New York Sea Grant.

The family-friendly, interactive exhibit shines its beacon on New York State’s 70-plus lighthouses and light boats, with a special focus on women who serve as keepers of those vital structures.

Daily demonstrations on the pond will showcase boat building, water drones, lifesaving science, a data-gathering buoy, a lifesaving exhibit, boat building demonstrations and a name that boat contest. One lucky visitor will actually win a boat.