New York State Fair

The New York State Fair, also known as the Great New York State Fair, is a 13-day showcase of agriculture, entertainment, education, and technology. With midway rides, concessionaires, exhibits, and concerts, it has become New York's largest annual event and an end-of-summer tradition for hundreds of thousands of families from all corners of the state. The first fair took place in Syracuse in 1841, and took permanent residence there in 1890. It is the oldest and one of the largest state fairs in the United States, with over one million visitors annually.

The New York State Fair begins in August and runs for 13 days, ending on Labor Day. The Fair did not operate in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is held at the 375-acre (152 ha) Empire Expo Center on the shores of Onondaga Lake, in the town of Geddes, near the western border of Syracuse. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets owns five of the buildings at the fair and employs its workers.

The Syracuse Police, Onondaga County Sheriff's Office & the New York State Police, besides security guards, are the fair's patrollers.

In February 1832, The New York State Agricultural Society was founded in Albany by a group of farmers, legislators, and others to promote agricultural improvement and local fairs. The nation's first state fair was later held in Syracuse from September 29–30, 1841. Attendance was estimated at 10,000–15,000; features included speeches, animal exhibits, a plowing contest, and samples of manufactured farm and home goods. The second New York State Fair was held in Albany in 1842. Between 1842 and 1889, the fair traveled among 11 cities: Albany, Auburn, Buffalo, Elmira, New York City, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown.

In September 1890, the Syracuse Land Company donated a 100-acre (0.40 km²) tract of land in Geddes to the Agricultural Society. Crossed by railways that facilitated exhibit transport, the Onondaga County location became the fair's permanent home. In the late 1890s, The Agricultural Society turned to state government for relief from debt due to the construction of permanent buildings on the site. The state purchased the grounds in 1899, and assumed management of the fair the next year, creating an 11-member State Fair Commission appointed by the governor.

A $2-million long-term building plan was enacted in 1908, which would last for two decades. During this time, the Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building, now the Center of Progress Building, was constructed. It was joined by the Dairy Products Building and Grange Building (now the Science & Industry Building) in 1910. During the Great War, the fairgrounds was utilized for military training beginning in May 1917, being designated Camp Syracuse; it trained about 40,000 Soldiers, and was impacted by the Spanish flu in 1918, and closed as a military base in November 1918. The Coliseum was opened in 1923, initially serving as host to the World's Dairy Congress. To address a growing and nostalgic public interest in local history, the Iroquois village exhibit and an agricultural museum were opened in 1928.

The fair was re-branded as the New York State Agricultural and Industrial Exposition in 1938, reflecting closer ties to industry, and included an extended 14-day schedule featuring popular entertainment acts.