JIM CATALANO

Correspondent

After nearly $50 million in renovations, the Great New York State Fair will welcome visitors with a fresh new look when it returns to the Syracuse area from Thursday through Sept. 5.

A new midway, an upgraded Chevy Court, better access for the handicapped, free public wi-fi and refurbished buildings are just some of the many upgrades that will enable the state to offer fairgoers a better experience this year.

Improvements started at the end of last year’s fair and picked up pace earlier this year.

“The first thing we did was replace the main gate, which is our front door, with a stone-and-arch structure that’s reminiscent of the very first carriage gate when the fair was built,” said acting director Troy Waffner, who is in his fourth year of running the event, during an interview at the fairgrounds in Geddes, Onondaga County.

Tearing down the decrepit grandstand and removing the racetrack opened up 63 acres of space in the back half of the fairgrounds. That enabled the midway to move from its formerly cramped confines — wedged between the track and the animal barns — into a much larger, open space with grassy areas, landscaping and a new Kiddie Land.

“One of the most amazing parts is that you can now stand at the west side of the International Building and have a clean sight line across the fairgrounds,” Waffner said. “With the grass, new asphalt, landscaping and trees, it has such clean and softer look. Which it really needed — it used to be just barren concrete. Without the track wall, you get a nice breeze across the grounds.”

Hiawatha Street, which runs from Gate 2 past the Dairy Building and sets one edge of the midway, has been upgraded with a grassy median and the removal of vendors. There’s also a new RV park, with more than 313 full-service spaces at the back of the fairgrounds where the grandstand used to sit.

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The improvements finally move the 375-acre fairgrounds into the 21st century after decades of stasis. “The same for 50 years,” noted Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a visit earlier this month, according to Syracuse.com. “Nothing changed. It was like going to your grandparents’ home. Everything was exactly where it was. Nothing moved.

“We did a $50 million facelift. You go there and you’re not even going to recognize the place anymore.”

Though the new fairgrounds successfully hosted the Syracuse Nationals car show in July, Waffner is still anxious to see how things work during the fair itself.

“It’s exciting but nerve-racking for everybody because we don’t know how the traffic is going to flow until people get in there,” he said. “We used to have this track wall that blocked everything off, and now we have these new streets and blocks. We’ve relocated several vendors, so they’re nervous and so are we. We all have a lot of money invested in this show for these 12 days, so we’re trying to make sure it works for all of us.”

Food fun

The vast variety of food has long been one of the State Fair’s biggest draws. Besides longtime vendors such as Baker’s Chicken Coop and the Haddock Paddock, there are dozens of other stands offering everything from ice cream and sausage to fish and fries — not to mention plenty of deep-fried treats.

After recruiting a vegan food stand, Strong Hearts Café, in 2015, the fair this year has added a kosher vendor, the Oaks at Menorah Park, in the Horticulture Building. “They’re selling things like deep-fried knishes, putting a State Fair twist on traditional Jewish food,” Waffner noted.

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The $1 Baked Potato Stand has moved a few yards, into a former restaurant space at the front left corner of the Horticulture Building, to accommodate the long lines it attracts.

On Sept. 4, the fair will host its second annual Food Truck Competition, in which a variety of trucks will offer $2 samples.

“We thought it would be a neat event, but we also wanted to pick up food trucks as vendors,” Waffner said. “From last year, we picked up a few trucks as 12-day vendors. It drew a lot of attention, and lots of votes, and it was cool to have all this different food available.” This year’s event will include 20 food trucks from around the state.

Go to nysfair.ny.gov/food-drink for a complete list of vendors and a map; many longtime vendors will be in new places this year.

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Other highlights include:

The fair’s 47th annual butter sculpture will be unveiled on its refrigerated, rotating stand in the Dairy Products Building. Steps away, the Milk Bar will once again offer 25-cent cups of white or chocolate milk; a planned increase to 50 cents was avoided when the state stepped in to subsidize the stand.

Now in its fourth year, the Taste NY tent offers free samples of food and beverage products from a rotating cast of vendors each day. And just across the street, the Taste NY Marketplace will offer more items from around the state.

Music at the fair

In recent years, the fair’s Chevy Court lineup has grown in size and ambition, with big-name acts drawing thousands of fans to twice-daily shows that are included free with admission to the fair.

To accommodate the growing crowds — the Steve Miller Band drew more than 36,000 people last year, for example — the fair has moved the Chevy display area to the front of the Center of Progress building, cleared out the longtime hot-tub vendors that ringed the area to a new commercial district near the midway, added more seating, trimmed the trees around the court to improve sightlines, and installed two large video screens to the sides of the stage.

Waffner said the fair spent $1.8 million with promoter Live Nation to put together this year’s Chevy Court lineup, which includes 23 shows across a variety of genres. Especially notable is Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson marking the 50th anniversary of the legendary Pet Sounds album at 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29, and Ithaca’s X Ambassadors, who sold out the State Theatre of Ithaca, performing at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. “I’ll bet they’ll get the biggest crowd we’ve ever gotten for an afternoon show, more than 15,000 people,” Waffner said.

This week, the state announced that the Lakeview Amphitheater also will host two free concerts by Symphoria, the Syracuse-based symphony orchestra, that will be free with fair admission. They’ll be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29 and Thursday, Sept. 1. A fireworks display will take place after the Sept. 1 concert, which will feature a program of patriotic music; the Aug. 29 concert will feature music from the movies

Visit lakeviewamphitheatre.com for more information.

True to its mission

Ultimately, the goal of the Great New York State Fair is to promote the state’s agriculture industry. But Waffner acknowledged that can be a tough sell these days.

“We’re not an agriculture–oriented society anymore — I think only 2 percent of people are involved in agriculture today,” he said. “But the state fairs’ — and not just ours — mission is to promote agriculture, which is important because it’s what sets us apart from Darien Lake. If you want to go on rides, you can go there just as easily, though it costs more.

“So we bring in 10,000 animals during the fair, host the competitions in fine arts, cake decorating and quilting. We have the Agriculture Museum, animal barns and Dairy Birthing Center. Then we combine that with rides, good food and music. It’s almost become an agriculture festival within music festival within a food festival within a midway. We try to tie it all together.

“Some people will say we’ve gotten away from our agricultural roots,” he continued. “But part of the reason we play up the music, midway and food is that agriculture is our mission, but typically you lose money on your mission. But we pay for it by offering everything else. We don’t care how you get in here, as long as you’re on the grounds.”

Jim Catalano is a correspondent for the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, part of the USA TODAY Network.

If you go

What: The Great New York State Fair.

When: Aug. 25-Sept. 5.

Where: State Fairgrounds, 581 State Fair Blvd., Geddes, Onondaga County.

Tickets: $1-$10 daily.

Get your tickets

Discounted advance tickets are available online and at select retail through Aug. 24.

During the State Fair, regular daily admission tickets are $10 every day except on Thursday, Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, when admission is $3, and Labor Day when admission is $1. Admission tickets will be available at all State Fair gates.

Children 12 and under are admitted free every day of the State Fair. Seniors 60 and over are admitted free on Monday, Aug. 29 and Tuesday, Aug. 30. Students 18 and under are admitted free on Friday, Sept 2.

There are also several 2016 Special Fair Days throughout the event, including Pride Day (Aug. 26) Law Enforcement Day (Aug. 26), Senior Citizens’ Day (Aug. 29), Armed Forced Day (Sept. 1), Six Nations Day (Sept. 2) and Students’ Day (Sept. 2). Visit nysfair.ny.gov/your-visit/special-fair-days for details.

Admission gates and all exhibit buildings open at 10 a.m. every day. The fair and all buildings close at 10 p.m. every day, except Labor Day, when closing time is 9 p.m.

The Midway is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. except on Labor Day when it closes at 9 p.m.

Chevy Court concerts

•2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (blues and swing)

•8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25: Kesha (modern pop)

•2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26: Sunshine and Pena (teen folk-pop from “The Voice”)

•8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26: Toto (classic rock)

•2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27: MAGIC! (reggae rock)

•8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27: Dashboard Confessional (emo rock)

•2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28: Air Supply (1970s soft rock)

•8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 28: Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers (folk pop)

•2 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29: Herman’s Hermits (1960s British Invasion rock ‘n’ roll)

•8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29: Brian Wilson presents "Pet Sounds" - Celebrating the 50th Anniversary with special guests Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin (classic pop and rock)

•2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30: Survivor (1980s favorites)

•8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30: The Commodores (funk, soul and pop)

•2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31: Macy Gray (indie soul)

•8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31: Three Days Grace (modern rock)

•2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1: Natalie La Rose (contemporary R&B)

•8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 1: Flo Rida (hiphop)

•2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2: A Tribe Called Red (electro hiphop)

•8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2: Culture Club (1980s pop)

•2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3: X Ambassadors (modern pop)

•8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3: Rachel Platten with A Great Big World (modern pop)

•2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4: Robert Cray (blues and soul)

•8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4: Daughtry (modern rock)

•6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 5: Chicago (classic rock)

There are also four concerts at the nearby Lakeview Amphitheater, which sits on the western shore of Onondaga Lake and replaces the Grandstand as the venue for big-ticket shows.

•7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25: Keith Urban with Brett Eldredge and special guest Maren Morris (country). Tickets: $20-$70

•6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27: Rob Zombie and Korn: “Return of the Dreads Tour” (metal). Tickets: $15-$85

•7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2: Florida Georgia Line with special guests Cole Swindell, The Cadillac Three and Kane Brown (country). Tickets: $30-$70

•8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3: ZZ Top with special guest The Charlie Daniels Band (classic rock). Tickets: $18-$200

Tickets from these shows will also allow for free admission to the fair itself any time during its 12-day run; just save your ticket and present at the fair gate.