Syracuse,
NY – June 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / Thursday (June 5) State Agriculture
Commissioner Richard A. Ball accepted the Medal of the Onondaga Historical
Association on behalf of the Great New
York State Fair in recognition of the Fair’s ongoing efforts to educate
the public through history.
“As the oldest state fair
in the United States, the Great New York State Fair itself is filled with
rich history, and part of our job as administrators of the Fair is passing
down that history to others,” Commissioner Ball said. “We thank the Onondaga
Historical Association for this great honor and look forward to doing our
part to promote history once again at the 2014 Great New York State Fair.”
New Shipwreck Exhibit:
Continuing the Fair’s aim
to promote history in 2014, Commissioner Ball and Acting State Fair Director
Troy Waffner today announced a new exhibit that will take place at this
year’s Fair called “Great Shipwrecks of NY’s “Great” Lakes.” NY Sea Grant
is partnering with the Great New York State Fair, Great Lakes Seaway Trail,
Great Lakes Research Consortium, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Lake Champlain
Maritime Museum, and the H. Lee White Marine Museum along with other partners
and sponsors to present this new exhibit, which will tell the story of
various shipwrecks located throughout the state.
For more than three centuries,
Lakes Erie and Ontario, and the Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers, in addition
to the Finger Lakes, Lake Champlain, and Lake George, have been major thoroughfares
for military, shipping, and recreational endeavors. As a result, their
waters are home to an extraordinary collection of historic shipwrecks.
In fact, hundreds of shipwrecks are located across New York State, including
Benedict Arnold’s gunboat Spitfire, which was discovered at the bottom
of Lake Champlain in 1997.
Travelers and residents are
fascinated by the story of these vessels, the people that lived and worked
aboard them, and the scientists who study them today. This exhibit will
guide fairgoers through a journey on the many ways they can continue discovery
of New York’s shipwrecks whether it be diving underwater, exploring a historic
site, or taking in a scenic view.
A 30 by 60 foot tent will
be situated in the mini-state park, located just outside of the Horticulture
Building on the Art and Home Center side. It will display a replica 18th
century bateau, which is a French and Indian War vessel. The display will
also provide fairgoers with information on various wreckages throughout
the state through panels, photographs and videos. In the reflecting pool,
a remote sensing buoy will provide real time weather and water conditions.
David G White, Recreation
Specialist at NY Sea Grant, and Associate Director at the Great Lakes Research
Consortium, said, “New York is home to some of the most important and historically
significant shipwrecks in the entire country, and this summer our goal
is to help educate fairgoers on some of the history that took place right
in their own backyards. Our ‘Great Shipwrecks of NY’s “Great” Lakes’ exhibit
will highlight some of this history and bring New Yorkers back in time
to when our waters were the most important transportation and strategic
defense hubs in our entire nation. We want to take fairgoers on a journey
through another place and time, and we can’t wait to show you what’s in
store this summer.”
History of the Fair Exhibit:
The History of the Fair Exhibit,
which debuted in the Grange Building at the 2013 extravaganza with much
fanfare, will return in 2014 with a number of new features. Even more historical
artifacts will be on display, including historic photos of “tea time at
noon at the Colonnade.” An exhibit commemorating the 80th anniversary of
the Art and Home Center will also be featured this year.
A three tiered, interactive
sand castle will give fairgoers a small sample of what it takes to complete
the annual sand sculpture, which in itself uses 180 tons of sand, and takes
two workers six days to complete.
A gift shop will sell a DVD
that tells the story of the 1969 Fair, as well as vintage posters and pins,
logos old and new, and a collectible holiday ornament that will change
annually. This year’s ornament will be the Horticulture building and will
provide a brief history of the building itself.
Witter Agricultural Museum:
According to the New York
State Agricultural Society, the purpose of the entity known as the Daniel
Parrish Witter Agricultural Museum is to enhance, advise, promote, develop
and assist in the operation of the museum to share the heritage of New
York’s Agricultural development with museum visitors.
The Society established the
State Fair and conducted it for 57 years; the organization was also instrumental
in developing the Daniel Parrish Witter Agricultural Museum, built on the
fairgrounds in 1928. “The Witter Museum is a great resource,” comments
Penny Heritage, spokesperson for the NYS Ag Society, “sharing the heritage
of New York’s agricultural development with visitors.”
The museum, situated next
to Restaurant Row, features a log cabin that was unassembled, brought within
the museum’s boundaries, and rebuilt exactly as it was. It’s also a living
history museum dedicated to telling the history of New York agriculture.
It features tradespeople like basket weavers and broom makers – local artisans
making actual products for fairgoers to enjoy. There is also an interactive
display on modern agriculture, featuring farm facts and statistics.
Carriage Museum:
The Carriage Museum, located
next to the Witter Museum, offers fairgoers a unique perspective on carriages
used for everyday agricultural purposes, including old milking trucks,
buggies, sleighs, carriages of all shapes and sizes, and chuck wagons.
The Museum has a number of interactive, living history shows for fairgoers,
showing how a chuck wagon works and an actual working blacksmith shop that
makes specialty items such as horseshoes. A blacksmith is on-site every
day in the Carriage Museum to walk fairgoers through the process of the
blacksmith trade.
Antique tractors on also
be on display for the full Fair at Gate #10.
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
21 – September 1, 2014. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its 2014 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:
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 |