NY State Fair attendance finishes shy of 1 million in 2023:
https://auburnpub.com/news/local/ny-...9530b4d89c1102
"Huge crowds over Labor Day weekend helped the New York State Fair finish with its best attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fair drew 932,699 visitors during its 13-day run, a 6% increase over the 2022 fair. Last year, total attendance was 878,110.
The 2023 fair did not set any attendance records, but it's another indication that large-scale events are past the COVID era.
Before 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fair was on a roll. Over a four-year period, from 2016 to 2019, the fair set all-time attendance marks. In 2019, attendance topped 1.3 million and the fair broke five single-day records.
COVID's arrival halted the fair's momentum. The annual summer festival was canceled in 2020, the first time a state fair hasn't been held since World War II.
The fair returned in 2021 as an 18-day event. It was part of then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to grow the fair by expanding its run. The longer schedule, though, was not well received. Total attendance was 798,095, the lowest since 1985.
Shortly after Gov. Kathy Hochul took office, she ended the one-year experiment and the fair returned to a 13-day run. And so began the fair's comeback.
There was new leadership installed before the 2022 fair. Sean Hennessey was named interim director after Troy Waffner took a different state job. Hennessey sought to focus on quality, not quantity. The message was clear: While attendance is important, it doesn't tell the whole story of the fair.
Before this year's fair, the interim tag was removed and Hennessey was appointed state fair director.
The 2023 fair benefited from great weather conditions — there were only a few days with any rain — and top-notch musical performers. Lainey Wilson drew a record 53,200 people for her Suburban Park concert.
Opening weekend attendance was solid, with 80,000-plus fairgoers on both days. After the usual lull in the week leading up to Labor Day weekend, the crowds picked up. There were 78,398 people on Thursday, followed by 85,314 on Friday.
The fair topped 90,000 for the first time on Saturday (91,926). Sunday's attendance (95,591) was the best single-day total of this year's fair.
The crowd for Labor Day, the fair's final day, was 72,529.
Crews will begin cleaning up the fairgrounds Tuesday. Part of that work includes dismantling the butter sculpture in the Dairy Products Building. The butter will be transported to a western New York farm, where it will be recycled.
The 2024 fair, which will run from Aug. 21 through Sept. 2, begins in 351 days."
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