State fair opens with an ice-cold Expo Center and old favorites

Now here’s a landmark event: the butter sculpture at the New York State Fair, which opened Wednesday, is 50 years old.

Not the sculpture that’s on display at the fair this year, of course. What’s 50 years old is the tradition of sculpting a whole mess of dairy fat into a revolving piece of artwork and putting it a refrigerated display case.

The 50^th anniversary sculpture is a double scene. One on side, a woman is buying milk in a store. And through the dairy case walks a male farmer, who emerges from the other side – a farm represented by a calf and small boy taking a selfie with it. Agri-tourism, anyone?

The massive state fair, which brings you the butter sculpture and many fried foods on a stick and celebrates agriculture and a few other things, runs through Labor Day, which falls on Monday, Sept. 3, this year.

As usual, the fair is full of old favorites and brand new things. You can still get an ice-cold cup of milk in the dairy building, and a giant baked potato in the horticulture building, both for next to nothing.

One of the bigger new things is the new Empire Expo Center, a 136,000-square-foot convention center and arena, constructed entirely since  December 2017. At the opening ceremonies for the fair Wednesday morning, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared the building the largest exposition center in the Northeast.

The center has been made into an ice rink for the duration of the fair. An exhibition game between the junior teams of the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Islanders was scheduled for opening day in the $63 million building.  Fairgoers could try curling on Thursday and Friday. A broomball tournament will take up both days this weekend. In order to showcase the building, the fair has scheduled events there every day, including a “wedding on ice,” on Sept. 1.

The building is expected to be a year-round attraction, which Howard Zemsky, State Commissioner of Economic Development, said will “transform the fairgrounds into a year-round destination, unlocking the full economic potential of the fairgrounds and this region.” With 4,000 retractable seats, the building can accommodate live sporting events, 500-booth trade shows and any number of indoor events.

Cuomo said the fair is a metaphor for the state’s economy. “If you’re going to build a new economy, you have to start by building a new infrastructure and attracting those jobs.  Everybody knows that, every president has said it, it just doesn’t happen. In New York, we made that happen.”

The governor said he used to accompany his father, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, to the fair and noticed each year it was “just a little older and a little more deteriorated.”  He would think, “‘Why don’t they do something? What a phenomenal facility…. Why aren’t they doing anything?’ ”

Government is about doing things, Cuomo said. That includes the fair’s orange parking lot, which used to be a pock-marked gravel lot accommodating 4,000 vehicles. Now it’s paved and marked for 7,000 cars.

All the improvements, though, aren’t taking away fair traditions:  the midway, musical acts, free samples, animal competitions, and the Iroquois village.  There is still a day highlighting dairy products (Aug. 30).

New days this year highlight Concord grapes (Aug. 23,) maple products (Aug. 27) and anti-stigma (Aug. 31) with activities on awareness of substance abuse and free training in the use of Narcan, an antidote to opioid overdose.

There will be a choreographed drone light show every night except Sept. 3 at 9:30 p.m., calling attention to the new state-designated “Drone Corridor” in central New York. The state is investing in drone technology as an economic driver in the corridor stretching from Syracuse to the Mohawk Valley.

The annual food truck competition, in which some 50 vendors offer $3 samples to fairgoers, will include 18 new entries Sept. 1 and 2. The new trucks include Abbott’s Frozen Custard, Roc City Sammich, and Kona Ice from Rochester.

Musical acts will dominate two stages – Chevy Court and Experience Stage.

The Chevy Court includes headliners Hanson, Blondie, Counting Crows, Smokey Robinson, and Ludacris.

Experience Stage will feature tribute bands, all women-bands, a lineup of Latino bands, Eddie Money and some talent showcases.

And if fairgoers are too tired – or have sampled too many New York-made beers or wines – they can ride home on the Amtrak train that stops at the fairgrounds on fair days.

[email protected]/(585) 363-7275