Music is blaring, roller coasters are whirling and dough is frying not far from the Syracuse University campus.

The Great New York State Fair opened on Aug. 21 and runs until Sept. 2. Located six miles away from campus, the fairgrounds are adjacent to Onondaga Lake.

Last year’s fair saw 1.27 million attendees, but this year they’re hoping to reach a new record, said Dave Bullard, an executive public relations officer for the fair.

“We would like to get back to last year’s level. It’s going to take a lot of effort, and we’ve set seven records last year out of 13 for each day’s attendance,” Bullard said. “We hope that Syracuse students attend this event because we have a lot of great concerts coming up.”

The fair is on its way to this goal. As of Aug. 25, it saw 486,821 attendees, Bullard said.

There are also music performances scheduled for the fair. The band Why Don’t We, will be performing on Aug. 29. Spencer Kenney, a representative from the fair’s public relations office, said that the group is a teen pop band that’s similar to the Jonas Brothers.

“We had many calls about this and it’s going to be a big show,” Kenney said.

Other musical performances include The Roots, lovelytheband and Gavin DeGraw performing at the Stan Colella Stage in Chevy Court. The Roots will perform on Sept. 1, and Gavin DeGraw and lovelytheband will perform Sept. 2.

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The fair is hosting about 200 food vendors, operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Bullard said. He said the organization’s core mission is to promote New York agriculture.

“We focus on food because it’s on one end of agriculture as a whole,” Bullard said. “We have a vegan stand, a kosher stand, a Vietnamese stand, a Polish stand — the list goes on.”

The fair’s dairy department features butter sculpture and the signature 25 cent cup of chilled white chocolate New York milk, Bullard said.

Among the numerous food options is the pizzesrippe, a two-foot long thick twist of dough made of a special recipe rolled in cinnamon, Bullard said, as well as the fair’s special version of corn dogs and sausage sandwiches.

Cathy Pemberton, a fair vendor and owner of Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen, said they’ve been vending for the event for four years through Taste NY, an organization that promotes local restaurants with specific food and drinks. She adds that vending at the fair proves to be a good way to bring exposure to her business.

“It makes me look a little more visible in the organization,” Pemberton said.

Besides helping Pemberton showcase her confections, she said the fair is a great place to go because it’s fun for everyone. Syracuse students can attend the fair for $1 with a valid college ID.

“There’s something for everybody. There truly is. The average person can go two or three times with family or friends. They’ll really enjoy it,” Pemberton said.

rbditche@syr.edu

Published on August 29, 2019 at 1:03 am