Syracuse,
NY – January 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / 2014 was a big year for
one of the largest state fairs in America. The Great
New York State Fair rose to 8th among all state fairs in attendance
in 2014, according to figures compiled by the industry publication Carnival
Warehouse, Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner announced Thursday (January
15th).
“We put our hearts and souls
into the 2014 Fair, delivering more than two dozen new activities and events
along with a brand new Midway and a Labor Day promotion that brought people
back to the Fairgrounds for the last party of summer. We’re pleased to
be back among the top 10 state fairs in America,” said Waffner.
The Fair’s attendance of
965,147 placed it 8th among all state fairs in 2014, up from 13th in 2013.
Its daily average of 80,429 placed it 6th in 2014, after the fairs of Texas,
Minnesota, the Tulsa State Fair, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The Fair rose to
18th place on Carnival Warehouse’s overall rankings of the top 50 major
public and privately-operated events in the United States and Canada, up
from 23rd in 2013, which includes large county fairs and special events
such as the Canadian National Exhibition and the Houston Livestock Show
and Rodeo. The Fair’s 13.4% rise in attendance was the largest percentage
rise among large state fairs, and was second only to New Mexico’s state
fair, which has attendance below 500,000.
This is the latest piece
of national recognition of the Fair’s resurgence, which saw it land on
a number of lists of top fairs to visit in America for its programming
or its vendors’ inventive food offerings. The International Association
of Fairs and Expositions recently honored the Fair with a record 17 awards
for its agricultural programming and marketing programs.
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
27 – September 7, 2015. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “Summer’s
Best in Show,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing
top-quality entertainment.
In addition to the annual
New York State Fair, the Fairgrounds host dozens of agricultural events
throughout the year, including some of the Northeast’s most prestigious
horse and livestock shows.
The home of the Great New
York State Fair is a 375-acre exhibit and entertainment complex that operates
all year. A year-round
schedule of events is available on the Fair’s
website. Find The Great New
York State Fair on Facebook, follow @NYSFair
on Twitter, and enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/nysfair.
Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York
State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.
Media Contacts:
Joe
Morrissey
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |