Syracuse,
NY – August 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The Great
New York State Fair has been officially celebrating New York State’s
beef industry for two decades, and this year, the State Fair’s official
Beef Day will be held on Tuesday, September 1, Acting Fair Director Troy
Waffner announced. Last year, more than 63,000 people attended Beef Day.
“Beef Day is always an exciting
day at the Fairgrounds, and with cook-offs, contests and educational activities
throughout the day, this special day helps us highlight this important
industry,” said Acting Director Troy Waffner. “Beef Day gives fairgoers
the chance to learn more about beef farming from the producers themselves.”
This year, the kick-off to
Beef Day will begin at 10 a.m. at the Chevy Court Pavilion with a proclamation
read by State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball, commemorating 20
successful years of showcasing New York State’s beef industry at the Great
New York State Fair.
“I look forward to celebrating
this milestone at the Great New York State Fair with the many cattle farmers
from across the state,” said Commissioner Ball. “Because of specialty days
such as this, fairgoers have a real opportunity to learn more about where
there food comes from and better understand the importance of the local
beef industry to New York State’s agricultural economy as a whole.”
During this year’s Beef Day,
the New York Beef Council will host two cook-offs. The first, the 20th
Annual Media grill-off—also known as the “Branding Iron Chef”— will begin
at 10:10 a.m. under the Chevy Court Pavilion. At its start in 1996, this
event was a one man broadcast but today, personalities from television
and radio programs from the Syracuse area are challenged to create a burger
masterpiece in one hour.
The second cook-off of the
day will also be held at the Chevy Court Pavilion at 12:30 p.m. Created
nearly a decade ago, the “Create the Perfect Burger” contest will bring
ten finalists from across the state to the Fair to compete against one
another based on pre-submitted recipes. The ten finalists grill their original
recipes for the chance to win the grand prize of $500 and the most important
recognition of being deemed “Perfect” by the judges.
Fairgoers are also encouraged
to visit the Beef Barn, which will have activities running all day on September
1. There will be opportunities to tour the barn, guess the weight of a
bull, toss a hay bale and to see which heifer wins the “Grand Champion.”
New this year, from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. on Beef Day, the New York Beef Council and Tops Markets will
be helping the Food Bank of Central New York kick-off “Hunger Action” month
by encouraging fairgoers to take a selfie with a “Look What I Did, I just
donated a Tops Market Hamburger” sign and post it across various social
media channels using the hashtag #BeefDayFeedsNY! For every selfie taken
with the New York Beef Council sign, a burger will be donated to the Food
Bank of Central New York.
New York Beef Council Director
of Public Relations and Promotions Jean O’Toole said, “Beef Day’s annual
celebration at the Fair is a day we can focus on the #1 protein on restaurant
menus and consumer’s plates across New York State. Beef Day enables consumers
to celebrate, praise and thank our cattle farming community for a job well
done!”
Brenda Bippert, owner of
WBB Farm in Erie County and New York Beef Producers Association member,
said, “We appreciate people coming to the beef barn and conversing with
our producers. We encourage fairgoers to ask how we produce the wholesome
and nutritious product they enjoy. Education about where food comes from
and how we, as producers, grow our beef is just as important to us as to
our consumers. We welcome any and all questions about the beef industry.
To encourage conversation, we created a “Fun Facts About Beef Scavenger
Hunt” in hopes to create “aha!” moments about beef cattle, which we hope
will help strike up conversations! Beef producers will be around all day
to talk to fair attendees, we encourage everyone to stop by the beef barn
and support our New York Beef Industry.”
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 2015 theme,
“Summer’s Best in Show,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture
while providing top-quality entertainment. This year’s tagline – “New Attractions,
Old Favorites, Timeless Fun” – highlights the more than two dozen new events
and attractions and the expansion or enhancement of several Fairgoer favorites.
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:
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 |