Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that advance sale tickets for the 2018 Great New York State Fair will be available Monday, July 9, including new discounts to make the Fair more affordable for New Yorkers and visitors. Discounts include $1 admission every day for college students with a current college ID, as well as Canadian Friendship Days, August 24-26, featuring free admission for any Canadian citizen with legal identification. The new discounts join a long roster of free and reduced price days at the Fair, which already boasts one of the lowest admission prices among fairs of its size.
"Year after year, the Great New York State Fair continues to break attendance records and attract visitors from across the globe with affordable, world-class entertainment," Governor Cuomo said. "With the addition of the Fairgrounds' new Expo Center and more discounts than ever before, the Fair is poised to once again welcome a record-breaking number of visitors to see all that Central New York has to offer."
This year, the Fair will debut its brand new $63 million Exposition Center—the largest clear-span events space north of New York City between Boston and Cleveland. The building will feature a temporary ice rink and an interactive exhibit from I Love New York highlighting the state's tourism, which builds on its successful operation last year in the Center of Progress Building. The highly popular annual sand sculpture will move to the Expo Center this year as well. The Fair has also worked with various groups to create tournaments and exhibitions for sports like hockey, figure skating, speed skating, and broomball.
Renovations to the Fair's largest parking lot, the Orange Lot, will also be complete in time for the Fair, featuring space for an additional 2,000 vehicles, improved traffic flow in the lot, and a new exit ramp to Interstate 690 westbound.
The Fair's ongoing addition of events and activities celebrating the diversity of New York continues with the addition of the new Latino Village Weekend taking place Friday, August 24 to Sunday, August 26 in the New York Experience festival grounds of the western end of the Fairgrounds. Produced in cooperation with Syracuse's La Liga, the Spanish Action League, the event features Latino music, food and culture. More than 200 food vendors will offer a vast array of products, from fun and creative deep-fried creations to vegan and Kosher offerings. Scores of merchandise vendors provide everything from trinkets to home accessories to high-value spas and mattresses.
Special shows around the grounds include mainstays like Hilby, the comic juggler who draws huge crowds, a classic big top circus, educational animal acts and more. Other major highlights of the Fair include the Dairy Cow Birthing Center, featuring several live, expert-guided births per day; the Chevy Court concert stage, featuring more than two dozen national touring acts, including Blondie, Ludacris, Smokey Robinson, Hunter Hayes, Hanson, and Niall Horan; as well as the animal barns and horse shows.
Advance Sales Begin
Admission tickets purchased during advance sales will cost only $6, a 40 percent discount on the $10 charge at the gate during the Fair. Admission will be just $1 on opening day, August 22 and on Labor Day, September 3. In addition, the Fair is offering Three Dollar Thursdays, in which admission is just $3 on August 23 and 30. Tickets for all of these days can be purchased on the Fair's online site at www.etix.com starting July 9. Discounts for the Wade Shows Midway of approximately 90 rides can be purchased there as well. Vouchers for a day of unlimited rides on a weekday or weekend will be on sale for $20 and $25, respectively, a discount of $5 over the price at the Fair. The Wade Shows Mega Pass, allowing unlimited rides every day of the Fair, may be purchased online atwww.WadeShows.com for $70, a savings of $20 over the price offered during the first few days of the Fair. Wade Shows offers two promotional discounts during the Fair: Midway Monday, August 27, featuring a wristband good for 10 rides for $10, and $1 rides all day on Dollar Day on Labor Day. Rides on the Broadway Skyliner are sold separately and are not part of any wristband promotion.
Presale $6 admission tickets will also be available at all Wegmans, Tops and Price Chopper stores across the state, as well as additional retail locations. Some outlets may also offer weekday ride-all-day MIdway vouchers. Children 12 and under are admitted free every day of the Fair. No refunds or exchanges are available for tickets used on lower-priced or free admission days. Unused admission tickets bought online or in stores for the 2017 Fair will be honored for the 2018 Fair. Special promotional tickets are not eligible.
The Fair offers many days of free admission for groups, including:
- Family Fishing Days, on Thursday, August 23 and Sunday, August 26, presented in cooperation with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Admission is free for anyone presenting a valid New York State hunting or fishing license at the gate. The DEC will operate free fishing clinics in the pond in the New York Experience festival grounds on those days.
- Senior Days, on Monday, August 27 and Tuesday, August 28. Admission is free for anyone age 60 or above.
- Law Enforcement Day, on Monday, August 27. Admission is free for all New York State police and correction officers with valid ID.
- Fire and Rescue Day, on Tuesday, August 28. Admission is free for all New York State fire and emergency services workers with valid ID.
- Armed Forces Day, Thursday, August 30. Admission is free for all current or retired military members with valid ID or DD-214.
- Six Nations Day, Friday, August 31. Admission is free for all members of Iroquois tribes.
- SU Football Day, Friday, August 31. Admission is $1 when wearing Syracuse University apparel, in honor of the opening football game of the season.
Unused advance sale tickets from the 2017 Fair will be accepted this year. Free or promotional tickets are not included. Tickets for any 2018 concert at the St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview include one free admission to the Fair when presented at any Fair gate.