Do you remember who the New York State Fair brought in to play a concert on Armed Forces Day in 2023? Yep, hypocritical “patriot” Lee Greenwood. The Hound let out a howl on that (Flag Waiver, May 27, 2023), pointing out that this MAGA dimwit has a lengthy history of backing a well-known, orange-haired serial defendant and wanna-be dictator.

Now it seems that Greenwood has upped the ante, joining Donald Duck-the-Charge in his latest scam, selling over-priced Bibles to finance his multiple legal defenses. Maybe the cornball lounge singer should read one of his own Bibles. He could start by counting how many of the Ten Commandments he’s willing to overlook. Then he could find references to what the Good Book has to say about lying,  adultery, lewdness, gluttony, avarice, vulgarity, narcissism, vengeance, sexual assault and racial hatred.

Maybe MAGA Lee is trying to get into the running for the Vice President nomination or maybe he just want to get in on the grift.

Either way, if the Fair brings this false patriot back, there should be an investigation.

The paper money that’s in your wallet right makes a promise to the holder. “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” There are no conditions, no asterisks, no exceptions.

Still many businesses, including SU’s Dome, the Lakeview Amphitheater, the Syracuse Mets’ ballpark and our beloved New York State Fair refuse to accept good old American cash. But there may be hope for those who think the practice of requiring credit cards or electronic payment is nonsensical, discriminatory and potentially subject to fraud and theft.

Channel 9 News recently reported that a bill in the New York State Senate proposes a law that would require merchants to accept cash as payment for goods and services, though allowing some exceptions. Let’s all contact our State Senator and urge support for this measure. Interestingly, New York City already has a law prohibiting cashless businesses.

Meanwhile, USA Today has reported that the National Park Service being sued over refusal to accept cash.

You can bet that, as you read this, some creep, somewhere is looking at this practice, trying to figure a way to hack into the payments systems or to steal your credit card information. And sooner or later, someone will succeed.

It’s an unnecessary and reckless risk. There was a time that all of these businesses accepted cash and it worked just fine. If they have issues with staffing, accounting and security, they should deal with it as they did back then. It’s called doing business. They all make plenty of profit from the customers they are abusing with their cashless BS.

At least we can use EZ Pass at the Fair and almost all vendors happily accept our money. We’ve heard of some that don’t, so we’ll just keep walking to one that does.

Likewise, smart customers are justified in thinking twice about patronizing businesses and venues that require credit cards.

Opening day of the 2024 New York State Fair is a long way off–200 days from Friday to be exact. That’s plenty of time, but there’s much to be done.

As always, State Fair Hound has some ideas that could serve as a blueprint for a better Fair this year and beyond. While we’re happy to respect many of the traditions that have made the Fair great over the years, suggestions for improvement, especially from outside the fences of the Fairgrounds or government offices of Albany, are essential to pleasing patrons and boosting chances for a successful 13 days.

The Hound has already promoted some ideas in recent posts. Those include more productive and respectful engagement with vendors and exhibitors (Sticky Red Tape, 9/23/23), humane and responsible treatment of animals in exhibits and performances (Breeding doubt, 9/13/23), continuation of the trend to improve food vendor structures and increase menu variety (Feeding Frenzy, 9/8/23) and revival of senior days with enhancements (Silver Surfers 10/19/23).

Music fans also deserve a better variety of acts, documented here many times, including Black Listed, 6/20/23, Hip Hopping to Conclusions, 9/21/22 and Triangulation, 7/15/19. Performance venue improvements, especially at Suburban Park, would be appreciated as would more courteous treatment of customers by security staff, who should view their duty to maximize fan comfort and enjoyment while keeping interventions friendly and helpful.

The no-cash policy for admission and parking remains a  flawed idea. Director Sean Hennessey patiently explained to The Hound why he feels that practice is necessary for the Fair, but it remains a burden and a security risk for patrons. Perhaps there’s a compromise to be made there. It should be considered.

The bottled water monopoly granted to Pepsi’s Aquafina brand back in 2018 still rankles customers and handicaps vendors. The market should determine what products are sold on the grounds and at what price.

Transportation and parking issues carry over from year to year and there’s no indication that any effective changes or creative ideas have been considered. Why not? It’s a huge issue, especially on dates when there’s a concert being staged on the other side of I-690–something that should not be happening.

We’d also like to see a more efficient process at the baked potato stand, where lines can be way too slow-moving.

The Hound will pass along more ideas as opening day approaches. We hope that our readers will send theirs to Fair management. In fact, we think that a committee of ordinary folks who love the Fair should be convened on a regular basis–a kind of advisory board. It could pay off.

Right now, there are 200 days to work on making this year’s Fair great. Let’s get to work.

While the exhibition of livestock goes back to the origin of the New York State Fair, the passing of years brings alternative viewpoints when it comes to the role of animals at the Fair. As planning begins for the 2024 edition, serious discussion about animal welfare issues would be in order.

During the Fair, a letter was published in the Post-Standard and syracuse.com that questioned the ethics of the Dairy Cow Live Birthing Center. Representatives of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in Ulster County criticized the treatment of the cows and the practice of prematurely separating babies from their from mothers, claiming to have over 10,000 signatures on a petition seeking to have the Birthing Center discontinued.

Their concerns seem valid. Those days-old calves are adorable and Fair visitors certainly enjoy seeing them, but it would seem that a state that touts its dairy farming industry would demonstrate greater sensitivity in its care of cows and calves.

When it comes down to it, we should also be considering whether featuring animals in a petting zoo and a sea lions show meet humane standards. Fair administration should be mindful of humanitarian concerns regarding both livestock and wild animal acts in applying both judgement and compassion.

One idea would be to appoint knowledgeable staff to assess conditions for animals on the grounds and make recommendations regarding their treatment. When legitimate concerns are raised, the Fair has a responsibility to issue a public response and make changes if necessary.

As the 2023 New York State Fair fades into the post-Labor Day sunset, there are plenty of memories, mostly good ones.

Attendance surged to over 900,000, strengthened by mostly decent weather, though showers dampened several days and Labor Day weekend got pretty hot.

There was a nice balance of new features and established favorites. As expected, the Dinosaur Expedition was a monstrous hit and Lady Houdini made an exciting debut. Juggling the schedule to spotlight the Groovy Guy early in the Fair was a good idea as the wisecracking, rope-walking entertainer put on a fun show to hold the fort until Hilby arrived to large crowds midway through the Fair.

The concert lineup gave most fans little reason to attend. If Fair organizers aspire a return to attendance totals exceeding a million, they should start with more diversity at the major stages.

Traffic control was generally OK and parking went smoother than in past years. Of course, amp shows tortured drivers, while temporary closures of the orange lot were infuriating for Fair patrons. Both of those things need to change.

Cultural variety seems to be a winning strategy as the Iroquois welcomed returning crowds to their quaint reservation and the colorful Pan African Village grows year-to-year. The Latino Village came to life for the second half of this year, while the new Asian Village will need time to develop and grow, although it already excels in availability of delicious vegetarian food, something that can be tough to find at the Fair.

It was great to see those spunky kids back on the Talent Showcase stage. The experience of competing means a lot to the youngsters, like the dancer pictured here who touchingly dedicated her performance to her recently-deceased father.

As always, there were many food choices, this year adding such creative new entries as the Peanut Butter Paradise at Tommy C’s, Omanii’s vegetarian sandwich and several new Toss & Fire pies. The best way to keep cool on Labor Day was by slurping a fruity Italian Ice from Our Vegan Corner.

Meanwhile, food stand changes continued, though the renovation of the street outside the dairy cattle barn was underwhelming. Daniella’s Steakhouse consolidated to its Art and Home Center venue, allowing Beak and Skiff 1911 to take over the large space inside gate 4. Tully’s new stand is beautiful, better than their food.

Vendor participation was noticeably depressed in several areas, particularly in the Horticulture Building and the Eatery, where vacancies stood out. Several outdoor spots were also wide open spaces, especially the yard in front of the Youth Building, which is begging for a large show venue. It would be a great location for a performing dog act, something that has been missing for years, although they never fail to draw large crowds. Maybe it’s time to suspend the Sea Lions Splash which is really dull show featuring adorable stars.

While some visitors complain that the Fair never changes, there’s always something new to enjoy and things you don’t see anywhere else. The sand sculpture never fails to amaze, you can come within a few feet of Hawk Creek’s inspiring birds of prey and this year a kid was seen walking on the midway with his emotional-support snake.

For just six bucks, it’s a sensational ride.

State Fair Hound has lots more reaction–what was great and what needs to be better–in upcoming posts. We’ll follow that with plans for tweaks to our own coverage for 2024 and beyond. Meanwhile, we thank our readers for letting us cover the New York State Fair the Hound’s way.

The temporary closing of the orange parking lot midday on Aug. 25 should infuriate drivers who needed parking to attend the New York State Fair. The lot was closed to traffic for a few hours in order to assure that fans heading out to the amphitheater would be able to pull into one of the narrow spaces that evening.

Did you get that? People going to the Fair were inconvenienced, perhaps significantly, to accommodate the misplaced, ill-conceived concert venue. Thus the question of why there are amp shows held during the 13-day run of the Fair becomes more mystifying.

It’s bad enough that evening State Fair traffic is catastrophically impacted several times each year, now people can’t even plan on that huge parking lot being available for the Fair as intended when it was paved at great expense to taxpayers.

We know that it’s pointless to expect the promoter to hold off on shows. They care nothing about Fair patrons and not much more about their own concert ticket holders if there’s money to be made. But state and/or county government officials have to step in and demand suspension of concerts during that Fair. There will still be plenty of dates to book shows at the amp, so holding off for two weeks is the best plan for fans of both the concerts and the Fair.

Just do it.

The recently-reported kerfuffle resulting in the withdrawal from the New York State Fair of the Carol Baldwin Fund and its pink recycling bins is more evidence of the Fair being hamstrung by political nitwits and incompetent bureaucrats in Albany. Newschannel 9 aired an interview by reporter Andrew Donovan with Executive Director Elizabeth Baldwin, who was clearly exasperated by what she termed  “non-communication and mistreatment” by the state. The cancer-fighting agency’s annual booth in the Science and Industry building will also be absent.

There’s been no comment from the state, but take it from The Hound, this mess oozed right out of Albany. Decades of experience covering the Fair have made it clear that this type of stupidity is always forced upon Fair administrators by overzealous lawyers and political hacks. The director and his team can’t say so if they want to stay employed, but we’d bet you a two-dollar bottle of tap water (thanks, Albany) that is the case.

Will reporters on the scene when the Gov shows up, perhaps on opening day, ask her about the needless meddling that made a simple operation benefiting a very worthwhile cause into an impenetrable tangle of red tape.? More important, will she answer? Probably not.

Someone should remind the politburo that this event belongs to us. Nobody asked regular folks what they think about bureaucratic meddling chasing this important fundraiser off the Fairgrounds. But they should already know the answer.