Syracuse,
NY – July 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
announced Tuesday (July 1) advance ticket sales for the 2015
Great New York State Fair begin July 13 at 9 a.m. with expanded online
savings for advance admission, midway and bargain book items. For the first
time, online purchases will be available throughout all 12 days of the
Fair and fairgoers will be able to use an electronic ticket on their smartphone
for easy entry. Tickets will be available online and in hundreds of stores
across New York.
“The State Fair showcases
the very best that the Empire State has to offer and with these new upgrades,
planning a trip has never been easier,” Governor Cuomo said. “I encourage
everyone to come and experience this great New York tradition for themselves.”
Five products will be
sold online at www.etix.com, the Fair’s
official and only online ticket seller:
-
Single-day advance sale tickets
for $6, a 40% savings over the full admission price;
-
Six-day admission Frequent Fairgoer
coupon books for $30, a 50% savings over full price;
-
Vouchers for ride-all-day wristbands
at the Wade Shows Midway for $20, a discount of $5 over the weekday price
and $10 over the weekend price;
-
Vouchers for ride-everyday Mega
Passes to the Wade Shows Midway for $70, which is $20 less than full price;
-
The Fair’s Best Bets Bargain
Book of more than 100 coupons for $4, a 20% savings over the full price.
No processing fees will be charged
for tickets bought online, though credit card fees will apply.
New York State Fair Director
Troy Waffner said, “We’re excited to be able to offer tickets online and
to make tickets scannable at the gates. We believe it will provide a real
convenience for fans of the Fair everywhere. We tested online sales with
our special Cyber Monday and Cinco de Mayo promotions and the results were
excellent. Our online sales allowed people in eleven states and Canada
to purchase advance sale tickets easily, something they hadn’t been able
to do before now. This also allows us to sell more items than we could
sell through our valued grocery store partners.”
Single-day advance sale tickets
will be available by mid-July in major retail outlets across New York State,
as they have been for many years. Wegmans, Price Chopper, Tops Friendly
Markets, and Kinney Drugs will sell tickets at hundreds of outlets across
New York State and in some stores in communities bordering New York. Tickets
are also available at independent grocery stores in Liverpool, Syracuse,
Weedsport, Marcellus, Pittsford, and Wolcott. Single-day admission tickets
will also be available at Destiny USA. The State Fair Box Office will be
open daily for advance ticket sales starting July 13 from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. A full list of physical stores that sell tickets can be found
here.
Midway Discounts
Also available at the Fair’s
online ticket site will be vouchers good for ride-all-day wristbands and
vouchers for the ride-everyday Mega Pass at the Wade Shows Midway. Wristbands
good for all rides on a single day will be available for $20 online, which
is about the cost of four or five rides at full price. During the Fair,
wristbands will sell for $25 on weekdays and $30 on weekends. The Mega
Pass is good for all rides on multiple days of the Fair. Mega Passes are
$70 by advance sale and will sell for $90 after the first weekend of the
Fair.
Those who purchase wristbands
or Mega Passes online will receive vouchers that can be redeemed at the
Wade Shows Midway during the Fair. The new Midway was a huge hit in its
first year and several new rides and attractions are planned for this year.
A Book Full of Bargains
The Fair’s annual Best Bets
Bargain Book will also be available for purchase online. The book is $4
by advance sale, a 20% savings off the cost at the gate. The book contains
more than 100 coupons good for discounts at the Fair, including a coupon
for $10 off the cost of renting a scooter for people with mobility issues.
In all, the book’s coupons contain more than $3,500 in savings, covering
the full range of activities at the Fair, including discounts on or at:
-
Dozens of food, beverage, and
product vendors, including on wine slushies, bottled water, pizza frittes,
and sausage sandwiches.
-
Fair entertainment venues, including
food purchases to feed animals at the Eudora Farms Petting Zoo, face painting
at the Walker Bros. Circus, and photos at the Wolves of the World exhibit
and the Sea Lion Splash exhibit.
-
Consumer products for the home,
such as vacuum cleaners, swim spas, and beds and mattresses that are available
for purchase at the Fair.
The book is also available at
full price at admission gates during the Fair. The full list of coupons
available in the book can be found
here.
Discount Admission Days
Three days of the Fair will
be available at admission prices even lower than the advance sale price.
The Fair will repeat its Dollar Day on Labor Day promotion that drew a
record crowd to the Fairgrounds. Admission will be $1 and all rides on
the Wade Shows Midway will be $1. The Fair will come to a close that day
with a free concert by pop superstar Nick Jonas at Chevy Court and fireworks
at dusk.
New this year is Three Dollar
Thursdays. Admission on opening day, Thursday, Aug. 27 and on Thursday,
Sept. 3 will be $3. There are no advance sale tickets available for those
days. Tickets will be available only on those days at the State Fair Box
Office and starting at 12:01 a.m. that day online. Advance sale tickets
can be used for admission on those days, but no refund for the difference
in purchase price will be given.
There are also special days
where admission is free to certain groups, including senior citizens, students
age 18 and under, Native Americans, firefighters and emergency services
workers, and police personnel. Full details on the Fair’s official special
days can be found
here.
About the Great New York
State Fair
The New York State Fair,
operated by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs
from August 27 to 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.
This year’s fair features
a lineup of 23 national touring acts at Chevy Court, including shows from
Melissa Etheridge, Meghan Trainor, Jonas, and the Steve Miller Band, among
others. This year also includes a new all-vegan vendor in the International
Building, the return of the popular Sea Lion Splash exhibit, and the cow
birthing exhibit.
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:
Jola
Szubielski
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |