It’s good news for fair fans that the President’s late August visit to Central New York won’t include a stop at the Fair. That feeling isn’t fueled by politics, but by a flashback to traffic jams outside the grounds and pedestrian mobs inside on previous VIP visits. Anyone who wants to see Obama can drive over to Henninger High School, while those who don’t can spend the day at the Fairgrounds.

Speaking of presidents, historic Kennedy and Reagan tribute displays and a meticulous model of the White House were among a series of terrific exhibits being displayed in major buildings at Fairs past. These door busters, as we like to call them, drew long lines and so did many others, including a hip-swiveling Elvis Presley set-up, a fascinating NASA exhibit, the quirky and fascinating Toothpick City and a barnstorming Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit that awed diamond buffs.

You have to wonder where these great, adult-oriented, one-of-a-kind exhibits have been the last few years. If this year’s new attractions, one documenting the State Fair’s history and another illuminating the Onondaga Lake clean-up plan, signal a trend to fill wings of some buildings with high-profile displays, that can only be good news for fairgoers and it may even have a positive impact on attendance numbers.