While the 2021 New York State Fair had its highs and lows, the big stage in the wide-open prairie at the western end of the grounds–recently renamed Chevy Park–really came into its own as a concert venue. The huge crowds that gathered near the pond for shows  during this year’s Fair demonstrated that the massive, slightly sloping lawn can provide a satisfying experience for tens of thousands of fans.

There were a few food vendors nearby, but expansion of amenities is both likely and necessary as the development of the site moves forward. Great things should be expected in the future for that venue, but there a few questions to ponder.

First, isn’t the burgeoning potential at Chevy Park proof that a state-of-the-art concert venue should have been built there as a permanent part of the Fairgrounds? The poorly-conceived and sadly mismanaged Lakeview Amphitheater continues to disappoint fans and interfere with State Fair events from its toxic waste bed site. Really, have you ever heard and read as many complaints and criticisms of a concert setting in local media?

If the venue was where it should be–the site of Chevy Park–it would support the State Fair by thrilling fans and providing patronage to vendors while lighting up the proverbial marquee with illustrious names. Sure, the park does those things now, but a well-run, ticketed venue of that size could book top acts that are financially impossible in the current free format. We would only hope that the promoter would do a better job than what’s happening at the amp.

But we’re stuck with Randy Andy’s dumb decision, so the focus now should be maximizing the Chevy Park experience. It all starts with the stage and planners should be considering whether a permanent stage should be constructed on that site.

The stage that was used this year was nicely done, but it was built just for the Fair only to be dismantled after Labor Day. Thus, absent the construction of a year-round stage there, another temporary structure will be necessary for the 2022 Fair. That could be workable as it was for decades with the grandstand stage, but it seems reasonable that the one-time erection of something permanent would be more cost effective over the long run.

Such a move would allow for three seasons of shows there, remembering that consideration of stage orientation would be necessary as as fans currently face west into the setting sun. With most late August Fair concerts starting at 8 p.m., the sun is nearly out of sight before the music starts, but earlier in the summer it would be a problem.

Such a permanent venue would be great spot for large music festivals and multi-day events. There would need to be serious discussion of how it would conflict with the amp as there are certainly similarities between the two venues. There are also significant differences as the Fairgrounds offers use of the nearby camping facilities and possibly some of the Fairgrounds’ other services, such as food stands, vendor space and maybe even the Chevy Court site.

Even if such an undertaking never happens, Fair music fans should be excited about the future of Chevy Park, especially in concert (pun intended) with Chevy Court.

It was a strange experience–visiting our beloved friend to find it oddly unfamiliar. But the 2021 New York State Fair hewed to the old adage and the show did indeed go on.

Attendance was low on the five-days-earlier opening day with overheated crowds finally admitted to the soggy Fairgrounds at the far-too-late time of 11 a.m. Unsurprisingly, long lines of patrons arrived hours prior to the designated time.

Once inside, the 2021 experience was bittersweet in numerous ways. Some events, exhibits and vendors were back and terrific as always, but others were missing. Visitors sometimes found closed or downsized areas where their traditional favorites had been.

For a second straight year, dedicated 4-H kids were left out of an event for which they put in a lot of hard work and preparation, so they paid a higher price than most of us. And the absence of farm animals left a huge void as empty barns were downright depressing.

The number of free-with-admission concerts presented was stunning, boosting attendance at times as the newly christened Chevy Park stage continued its impressive growth. But the much lower turnstile  numbers significantly hurt the bottom line for many a Fair business, so before we complain about things we missed, let’s remember their pain.

Still, there was a lot to like about the Fair and the future holds great promise, starting with the unlimited potential of concerts and events at Chevy Park (more on that in an upcoming post on State Fair Hound), maximization of the Expo Center, the return of youth participation and livestock shows, more thrilling special events like the skydiving exhibition, continued excellence on the Wade Shows midway, strong re-emergence of significant vendors who skipped or downsized this year and fresh thinking from a new governor who may value customer input, leading to renewed fan enthusiasm and support.

Overall, the headline is that the New York State Fair went on without significant problems or troubling incidents, which is a shining tribute to Fair administration and workers, whose often-invisible contributions deserve our appreciation, especially in this difficult year. While the Fair serves primarily to entertain us, this unusual one also demonstrated that we will overcome the challenges of the past two years, due mainly to the spirit that led us to soldier on through the challenges of 2021.

At closing time on Thursday, as Labor Day weekend looms, we look toward the last four days of the 2021 New York State Fair.

While it hasn’t lived up to all of our hopes and dreams, it gave us something to celebrate and savor, like this sunset over the midway we shared with our new friend Vanessa on Wednesday.

There’s still plenty of music, entertainment, thrills and tasty treats at the Fair and vendors desperately need to see more customers.

So make the most of the predicted pleasant weather and take advantage of bargain admission prices by taking a last trip or two to the Fair. After last year, we have learned that it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

If you need another reason to go, horses have finally arrived for some Coliseum appearances and goats are bleating in their barn, at least for some of the weekend.

Bandoloni is stomping out classic tunes and Hilby is as hilarious as ever. Both guys will play daily from here on out.

The Fair will close with a bang as fireworks burst above on Monday night.

Three of the most historically significant exhibits at the New York State Fair aren’t open to visitors this year. But don’t blame Fair organizers for keeping fans out of the perennially popular State Fair History gallery in the Grange Building, the antique-rich Agriculture Museum and the quaint Carriage Museum.

If more of our fellow New Yorkers had shut down their so-called social media feeds, turned off extremist “news” channels and substituted a modicum of common sense, we’d be further removed from viral threats and better positioned to get close to each other while touring these small, but delightful buildings. Vaccinated people could also ditch those annoying masks currently required in Fair buildings.

It’s disturbing that responsible and reasonable citizens, who were smart enough to get their shots, have to lose out on some of the best things in life, including at the Fair, because too many misguided nitwits get their medical advice from anti-social media feeds or sleazy politicians instead of medically qualified sources. It’s not callous for vaccinated folks to be angry that the shortsightedness of others is negatively impacting all of us.

Maybe it’s trivial to complain about having to miss out on beloved Fair exhibits when some of these ignorant neighbors may soon face much greater problems.

Since you’re reading a blog about the New York State Fair, you probably think that the longer the Fair runs, the better. But there are some issues that make it seem that extending its run from 13 to 18 days is a questionable decision, especially this year.

For starters, a significant number of the food stands, vendors and exhibitors have cited the difficulty of staffing their operations for 18 days as a reason that they won’t be participating this year. It’s logical to expect that having workers on hand for 13 days would have been tough this year, since many year-round businesses, especially restaurants, have found retaining  adequate numbers of employees challenging. So six more days have made it impossible for some Fair vendors.

The 18-day plan was hatched before anyone ever heard of that damned virus and even then it sounded ambitious. Fair Director Troy Waffner has been quoted in print as saying that his team has been stressed in getting ready on short notice, having had to wait for the green light from the Gov before getting all of the prep work–and there’s a ton of prep work–underway. Once again, the additional days had to make it that much harder.

For a Fair that only expanded to 13 days in 2017, the addition of six days requires accommodation by everyone from vendors and exhibitors to seasonal staff to the State Police. You can be certain that Fair administrators didn’t commit to the lengthening until they got an assurance that Wade Shows, provider of the midway rides and attractions, could service 18 days.

That’s something that wouldn’t have happened if our Fair was still hiring the James E. Strates Shows to provide thrills because for many years Strates played the Erie County Fair, near Buffalo, closing there  just a few days before the show opened in Syracuse. This year the Erie Fair runs Aug. 11 through Aug. 22, its last three days overlapping the State Fair. With Wade as midway operator, the carnival portion won’t be an issue, but that’s not the case for other vendors and exhibitors, who have in years past played out there before packing up and traveling down the thruway to set up here.

One veteran Fair food vendor told State Fair Hound that he had talked to some business people who had told him that they were feeling squeezed by the conflict and had to make some tough decisions. That source wondered why the State would decide to go for 18 without taking into account the ramifications for the many participants who work multiple fairs.

That would been a problem in any year, but 2021 isn’t just any year. We’ve also heard indirectly from a vendor who’s pulling out complaining about state regulations being a headache for owners doing business on the grounds.

Then, you have to wonder how Fair patrons will respond to the extension, coupled with the lower admission price of three bucks with seniors free every day. Will people attend on more days or spread out their attendance over 18 days, going basically as they traditionally have done in fewer days? If the new enticements don’t produce a significant boost in business, everyone affiliated with the Fair will be disappointed and there will be some serious second-guessing about whether, in the case of the New York State Fair, more is better.

Every year it’s a massive job to put together the plan for staging the New York State Fair. Our 375-acre blank canvas is transformed into a masterpiece by late August to welcome over a million visitors for an event that may be similar to other states’ fairs, but is singularly ours.

 The 2021 edition will also be different from any previous New York event for several reasons. It will be the first Fair we’ve had extend beyond 13 days, the new 18-day format beginning a year later than anticipated.

The reason for the delay–you know what that is–adds another layer of complications on top of all of the usual challenges faced by Waffner and Company. It sure seems that the most difficult obstacle to a smooth-running festival is that decisions have to be made several weeks prior to opening day despite the constantly moving target of what can go on as usual and what needs to be significantly modified.

A little straight talk is in order regarding health precautions that may limit or eliminate some Fair activities. To summarize the view from here, State Fair Hound humbly suggests a slogan for this year–“Come to the Fair. It you catch COVID, it’s your own damn fault.”

Really, by Aug. 20 there’s no reason everyone can’t be vaccinated, with the possible exception of the very rare few folks who have a medical reason to avoid it. So let’s not let those lunkheads who refuse to take a simple and safe precaution screw it up for those of who are behaving responsibly. Look around–everything is being normalized as infection rates fall. Recently schools have been approved to admit students with few or no restrictions, so it’s time to give the Fair the green light to go full speed.

One change that seems set is the shift of major concerts from Chevrolet Court to  the Chevrolet Music Festival Stage, formerly know as the Experience Stage. No big deal there–it’s been headed that way for a few years now, though there isn’t a logical reason why vaccinated fans can’t sit shoulder-to-shoulder wherever the show is staged. Not vaccinated? See the new slogan.

There’s been talk of moving toward a mostly outdoor event, keeping most buildings closed. Patrons who had their shots should have no worries going indoors to get a baked potato, gawk at the sand sculpture or line up for chocolate milk. Didn’t get yours? See the new slogan.

Attending indoor entertainment like the horse shows in the Coliseum, Agriculture Museum exhibits, youth projects, calf births, cooking demos, gardening shows or the ever-popular gadget vendors should likewise be no problem. You’re vaccinated, aren’t you? If not, see the new slogan.

You get the idea. Hey, if you want to wear a mask, go for it. But it’s time for those in control of government, business and entertainment venues to stop playing meddlesome mother to a population that has made its own decisions regarding what should be an obvious choice.

Let’s hope the powers in state government give our Fair planners approval for the show to go on as usual. Then, let’s all go to the Fair prepared to have a great time. The new slogan speaks for itself.

A recent article in the Syracuse Post-Standard served as a study in contrast compared to an act at the 2019 New York State Fair. The article documented the shameful slaughter of  over 1700 black bears by sadistic hunters in the Empire State.

Fair fans saw similar animals in the presentation of Bearadise Ranch at the Fair. While The Hound has been critical of shows featuring wild animals, at least the folks at Bearadise Ranch have some measure of respect and affection for these formidable ursine New Yorkers.

Meanwhile heavily-armed jerks get their demented kicks by going into wilderness areas to kill them as a sick form of entertainment.

Of course, bears aren’t the only critters on New York’s list of wildlife victims, all sanctioned by our own so-called Department of Environmental Conservation. When you see the DEC bureaucrats at this year’s Fair, ask them why they allow such appalling carnage, supported by your tax dollars. Don’t accept their ludicrous excuse that it somehow benefits the animals. That’s total bear shit.

Meanwhile the Post-Standard, particularly reporter David Figura, glorifies these bloodthirsty idiots with publicity, so they’re complicit in this disgusting cruelty.

Singer Charley Pride was famous for being the first. Country music’s first African-American superstar broke a lot of ground over a 50-plus year career as one of the most beloved entertainers in the nation’s history, culminating in his being enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame and winning a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

New Yorkers will also remember Pride, who died Dec. 12, as the first act to perform a concert on the stage of the New York State Fair grandstand, back in 1969, as documented by the captioned photo on display in the Fair history exhibit.

In remembering Pride, it is a common mistake to call him a great black singer, just as it would be to call Hank Aaron a great black baseball player or Viola Davis a great black actress. Greatness knows no race and country music radio fans were already cheering Pride’s expressive baritone before they discovered that the Mississippi native was African-American.

As much as that barrier needed to be broken, Charley Pride always downplayed his race and his role as a pioneer in the white-dominated industry. Though there was early reluctance on the part of some fans to accept him, his character, warmth and charisma, as much as his distinctive voice, won them over and elevated him to the upper echelon of his profession.

Pride had cracked the top ten on Billboard’s country chart eight times when he played the State Fair and his appearance there was an early indicator that fans would fill the trackside bleachers for popular acts as they did many times over the ensuing four decades.

But as so often was the case, the inimitable Charley Pride was the first.

Driving past the New York State Fairgrounds these days is a painful experience.

The 2020 Fair should be beyond the halfway point, heading into the homestretch with Labor Day weekend in sight. Instead, entrances are are locked up, the parking lots empty, the grounds abandoned.

There’s no sign of the explosion of excitement and joy that normally makes this our favorite time of year. The Governor thinks we had to cancel this year’s Fair to spare our citizens widespread and dangerous exposure to that damn virus.

If this were some other part of the country, he’d be right.

But local folks have made the sacrifices necessary to keep infection totals very low. We deserved a chance at some form of the Fair experience by employing the same cautious practices that we’ve been following to make New York a national leader in reducing cases.

Due to this controversial decision, made by one man, we aren’t currently enjoying those majestic buildings, gyrating rides, gleeful kids and amazing critters. Your nose isn’t breathing in frying peppers, prize flowers, decomposing hay or greasy funnel cakes. There’s no music, no excited screams, no sizzling sausages.

Happier days are ahead, no doubt. But it’s over 350 days until those gates swing open for the 2021 New York State Fair. Meanwhile, disconsolate Fair fans, financially devastated business owners and idled workers are left to contemplate what might have been.