State fair offers entertainment, food and more

SYRACUSE--The Great New York State Fair gets underway Wednesday, Aug. 23 and continues until Tuesday, Sept. 4. The fair features many signature products of New York, exhibits, entertainment and food options.
More than one million people are expected to visit during the 171st edition of the event.
New events and activities for this year include a new home for the popular New York State Police exhibit, Family Fishing Day and Timber Sports Day, and new midway rides and entertainment such as the Broadway Skyliner chairlift ride.
The New York State Police exhibit has moved near the horticulture building. The area, which includes two buildings, has been renovated to include a new, steel tower Troopers will use for their daily demonstrations of building rappelling techniques. Inside one of the buildings, fairgoers can use a simulator that demonstrates the dangers of texting while driving and a forensic crime scene area, as well as a Wall of Honor to fallen Troopers. The other building will house an exhibit celebrating the Troopers' Centennial. State Police canines will have a new, air conditioned place to rest between shows, and all the demonstrations that fairgoers enjoy will return.
In the Indian Village, a new Turtle Mound will become the home of the traditional dances that take place three times daily. The mound has been built to resemble a turtle, an animal sacred to the Iroquois. The village also received new roofs on its buildings and other renovations.
A day dedicated to fishing in New York begins Aug. 27 with a tournament on Onondaga Lake. "I Fish New York," sponsored by I LOVE NEW YORK, will feature members of Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) chapters from across the state, competing for the biggest catch from 7 to 11 a.m. The action then shifts to the new New York Experience area on the Fairgrounds for the official weigh-in and the crowning of the champion on the Empire Experience Stage.
Admission to the fair Aug. 27 is free for those who show a valid sporting license at the gate.
An exhibit celebrating women's suffrage will be open throughout the fair in the Art and Home Center. The exhibit will feature the traveling panels of the New York State Museum's upcoming exhibit, "Votes For Women: Celebrating New York's Suffrage Centennial," along with panels profiling leaders of the suffrage movement. On Women's Day, Aug. 30, Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul will keynote the annual Women's Day luncheon in the Empire Room.
Also new this year is the fair's first-ever water ride. "White Water" is a flume ride that will take riders down two water slides to splashes of cooling water. There are many other new kiddie, family and thrill rides at the fair this year. The RC-48 steel roller coaster will return after some time away from the fair. The ride rises 70 feet in the air before taking riders around banked turns and curved drops, ending with twists through a helix pattern.
There are also numerous live entertainment venues during the fair including concerts. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stephen Marley and The Beach Boys are among the headliners. The daily schedule at the free Chevy Court includes:
• Robert Randolph and the Family Band, 2 p.m., Aug. 23
• 3 Doors Down, 8 p.m., Aug. 23
• The Family Stone, 2 p.m., Aug. 24
• Chevelle, 8 p.m., Aug. 24
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, 2 p.m., Aug. 25
• The Beach Boys, 7 p.m., Aug. 25
• Stephen Marley, 2 p.m., Aug. 26
• Symphoria, 8 p.m., Aug. 26
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, 1 p.m., Aug. 27
• Earth Wind & Fire, 8 p.m., Aug. 27
• Peter Noone, 2 p.m., Aug. 28
• Kansas, 8 p.m., Aug. 28
• The Marshall Tucker Band, 2 p.m., Aug. 29
• Daya, 8 p.m., Aug. 29.
• Taylor Dayne, 2 p.m., Aug. 30
• Bret Michaels, 8 p.m., Aug. 30
• Skid Row, 2 p.m., Aug. 31
• LeAnn Rimes, 8 p.m., Aug. 31
• A Tribe Called Red, 2 p.m., Sept. 1
• Blue Öyster Cult, 8 p.m., Sept. 1
• TBA, 2 p.m., Sept. 2
• DNCE, 8 p.m., Sept. 2
• Spin Doctors, 2 p.m., Sept. 3
• Migos, 8 p.m., Sept. 3
• UB40, 1 p.m., Sept. 4
• Kool and The Gang, 6 p.m., Sept. 4
Regular daily admission tickets are $10 every day except on either Thursday, Aug. 24 and 31 when admission is $3. Both preview day, Aug. 23 and Labor Day, Sept. 4, admission is $1. Admission tickets are available online at etix.com or at any state fair admission gate.
Children 12 and under are admitted free every day. Seniors 60 and over are admitted free on Monday, Aug. 28 and Tuesday, Aug. 29. Students 18 and under are admitted free Friday, Sept. 1.
Rides and other select events cost extra.
General admission gates open at 7 a.m. daily and close at 10 p.m., except for Labor Day, when the entire grounds close at 9 p.m. Exhibit buildings are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Midway is open 10 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The state fairgrounds are immediately adjacent to Route 690 just west of Syracuse. The address is: 581 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse, New York 13209.