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The popular, 18-day New York State Fair will be returning to Syracuse this summer after being forced to take a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though certain restrictions will be put in place, the State Fair is scheduled to make its return to the Fairgrounds from Friday, Aug. 20 through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6.
“To modify a popular phrase, the fair must go on,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during a COVID-19 briefing on Monday, April 26 in Syracuse. “The State Fair is special. It’s special to all New Yorkers.
“We’ve invested a lot of money into the fair for many years now … the State Fair had stagnated and was not developed to its full capacity,” he continued.
“Like any other enterprise you have to invest in it, and now we’ve seen record attendance over the past few years, showing that investment and growth in the fair has worked.”
Cuomo said that the fair will be organized differently than it has been in the past, with separate areas set up for food, amusement rides, agriculture, and concerts.
The original guidance calls for the fair to be capped at 50 percent occupancy, though Cuomo said that they will review the COVID situation closer to August to determine whether or not additional restrictions can be altered or removed.
“This is months away from where we are today, and if you had asked me four months ago if we would have made as much progress as we’ve made, I’d have been dubious,” Cuomo said. “So these are just general operating principles.
“These will be revised between now and August, and if things keep going the way they’re going, I’d bet they will be revised up, giving us more capacity and more flexibility,” he added. “So the main message is that the fair will be open, mark it on your calendar.”
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