chevy court

It’s that time of the year again… the NY State Fair!

UPDATED FOR 2019!

Spending a day (or more) at the Fair can be an expensive outing (on average, visitors spend about $121). As the goal of this blog is to help save you money, I’ve compiled a list of ways to have a good time at the Fair without breaking the bank:

Tickets / Admission

2019 NYS Fair: Weekend Ticket Prices Now Only $1

Advance sale tickets – Available through August 21, 2019 only – $6 for adults* (otherwise $10 at the gate)
- A full list of locations where these are sold can be found here
- You can also purchase them online here
Special Fair Days
- College Student Days (every day of the Fair) – discounted admission of $1 for any enrolled college student with proper photo ID
- Opening Day/Governor’s Day (August 21) – $1 admission
- Dollar Days (Opening day, August 21, closing day, Labor Day, Sept. 2)
- $3 Admission Thursdays (August 22 & August 29)
- Family Fishing Days (August 22 & August 24) – free admission for anyone presenting a valid New York hunting or fishing license
- Canadian Friendship Days (August 22 – 25) – free admission for any Canadian citizen or resident with proper ID
- Biker Appreciation Day (August 24) – discounted admission of $1 for fairgoers who arrive on motorcycles and show a proper motorcycle license at the gate, with free parking in the Gray parking lot
- Bike to the Fair Day (August 25) – discounted admission of $1 for anyone who rides a bicycle to a Fair admission gate
- Law Enforcement Day (August 26) – free admission for any active or retired law enforcement or corrections personnel with proper photo ID or an active badge
- Senior Days (August 26-28) – free admission for those age 60 and above
- Fire & Rescue Day (August 27) – free admission for any active or retired fire or emergency services personnel with proper photo ID
- Women’s Day (August 28) – discounted admission of $1 for all women
- Comic Con at the Fair Day (August 28) – discounted admission of $1 for anyone wearing a costume to a Fair gate
- Armed Forces Day (August 29) – free admission for any active member of the military with proper photo ID or any retired member with proper photo ID or DD-214
- Native Americans Day (August 30) – free admission for members of Native American tribes who enter through Gate 4
- Student Day (August 30) – free admission to those 18 years old and under
- Orange Day (August 31) – discounted admission of $1 for anyone wearing Syracuse University apparel, in honor of the team’s season-opening game that day
- Summer Send Off “Dollar Day” (September 2) – $1 admission on the last day of the fair; all rides will be only $1 as well
The Fair has sold $4 general admission tickets in the past few years, as well as $3 Cyber Monday tickets
Any ticket for any 2019 concert at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview can be used for one free admission to the NYS Fair

*Children 12 and under are admitted free every day of the Fair*

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*NEW FOR 2019*

For only $45 you can get the following (an $85 value):

4 State Fair tickets
All Day Parking (non-transferrable)
4 loaded baked potatoes
4 milk tickets
1 coupon for a 2020 NewsChannel 9 Weather Calendar and a Made in CNY T-shirt
$10 Gianelli Sausage at the Dinosaur Tent

Head over here for more information and to purchase yours today by 8/28!

Travel

State Fair Park-N-Ride header image

Save on gas and parking (and hassle, too) by taking the bus!

Centro will once again provide its popular direct service to the New York State Fair. The Park-N-Ride locations and schedules can be found here (fares and times vary by location). Centro Ride Passes and transfers are accepted. For most of the locations, it is a $2 fare for adults (ages 10-64) and children 5 and under are free.

*NEW* This year Centro Express buses will no longer pick up and drop off fairgoers at the main gate. The shuttles will now arrive at the Fair’s Gate 10 (Gray Lot). New trams will then provide non-stop express service between Gate 10 and Gate 12, at the corner of Chevy Court.

PLEASE NOTE: Centro will NOT be running direct service from the Syracuse Transit Hub to the Amphitheater during the State Fair.

Park-N-Ride at Destiny USA

Looking for the closest, quickest, most convenient way to get to and from the New York State Fair? Destiny USA is your official Park-and-Ride location! Centro provides direct service to The great New York State Fair from Destiny USA. The Park-N-Ride Express departs every 10 minutes from the shelter located between Eastside Lots 2 & 3 on Solar St beginning at 10:00 am and continuing until midnight. Returning shuttles depart the State Fair Main Gate every 10 minutes beginning at 10:15 am and continuing until 12:15 am.

*NEW* Round-trip shuttle passes available for purchase at the Park-N-Ride location. Cash only. See Centro attendant at shuttle shelter for details.

2019 NYS Fair: New parking lot to be FREE for remainder of fair

Entertainment

Rides

Wade Shows Midway Monday (August 26) – Special limited wristband offer, 10 rides for only $10.00.
All midway rides are only $1 on Labor Day (the last day of the fair)
Advance sale:
- Midway Mega Pass Unlimited Ride Wristband Vouchers – $70.00 each for unlimited rides (all day, every day)
- Midway One-Day Unlimited Ride Wristband Vouchers – $20 or $25 each (all day, any one day)

Chevy Court

Image result for fair chevy court

Perhaps the best FREE concert series in America, the Chevy Court stage will host 26 free concerts this year from artists like Gavin DeGraw, Ice Cube, Dropkick Murphys and more.

Attractions/Exhibits/Misc.

⇒ You can play mini golf for free anytime from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily throughout the fair (located between Chevy Court and the Horticulture Building)

⇒ Free tram rides with nine stops, starting in front of the main gate and continuing around the fairgrounds.

⇒ *New* The fair now offers free Family Movie Nights, featuring kid-friendly movies on a 55-foot inflatable screen (Expo Center)

⇒ *New* Take part in a a human foosball game inside the Expo Center

⇒ There are several free shows such as the Birds of Prey, Bears of Bearadese Ranch, and Wolves of the World Show

⇒ For $2, you can visit the SkyRiver Butterfly Exhibit, where you can hold a butterfly on a q-tip.

⇒ There are dozens of other attractions at the New York State Fair that are displayed here, including free shows and exhibits. Here are some new ones for 2019:

Bandaloni
Bearadise Ranch
Broadway Bubble Express
Christmas in August
K9s In Flight
Paddle Board Yoga
Rock-It The Robot

Food / Drink

This past May, the NYS Fair held a Fair Food Bucks sale where people could buy $20 worth of food vouchers for only $15

Milk
- Get a delicious 7 ounce cup of chocolate or white milk for 25 cents at the Rainbow Milk Bar (Dairy Building)
Baked Potato
- Get a baked or sweet potato with for only $1 at the Great Potato Booth (NE corner of Horticulture Building); add toppings for .50 each
Hot Dogs
- There are various food stands that offer $1 hot dogs (i.e. Emmi’s Hots)

Ice Cream
- Utica Coffee Company offers $1 ice cream scoops
- Several ice cream stands offer mini-cones for $1
- Turkey Hill is handing out free carmel-peanut butter gelato cups this year
Twin Trees (Corner of Hiawatha & Cheyenne, outside the Grange Building)

Hot dogs at the Twin Trees Restaurant stand are $1. So are chicken wings and chicken tenders. New York State Fair 2019. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

- $1 Hofmann’s Hot Dog
- $1 Buffalo chicken wing
- $1 chicken tender
$6 to $9
- Sausage Sandwich at Jimmy B’s – $5.50
- Hot Beef Sundae from Shake It Up – $6
- Belgian Waffle Sundae from Maurice’s Belgian Waffles – $7
$3 to $5
- $3.50 quarter-pounder hamburger – Horan’s
- $4 sausage burger – Gianelli Sausage
- $4 double cheese burger – Emmi’s
$2 and under choices
- Las Delicias – Chicken Empanadas ($2 each)
- Several stands sell 12-ounce cans of soda for a dollar
- The apple fritters from The Cabin at the West End are three for $2
- Chicken tenders – The Hofmann Hot Dogs/Twin Trees Restaurant stand offers tenders for $1 (Hot dogs and water, too)

Bonus tip: If you go on a hot day and/or tend to get thirsty often, plan on purchasing from a vendor who offers free refills. For example, you pay $10 upfront but get unlimited refills throughout the day. If possible, never pay more than $1 for a bottle of water or a soda.

~~Food Finder & Interactive Map – there’s a dropdown option under Category where you can choose “(About a) Buck or Less”~~

Summer Send Off “Dollar Day”