By Kate Bartlett
This year marks the 184th annual Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY. The 12 best days of summer begin August 7th running through 18th with truly something for everyone. The fair is the largest event in Western New York, and attendance exceeds the New York State Fair with over 1.1 million attendees last year in 2023. Each year brings back old fair favorites along with new and exciting exhibitions for the perfect blend of nostalgia and excitement for all ages, all while highlighting the importance of agriculture throughout the event.
The Fairgrounds boast 275 acres and over 100 permanent buildings and structures along with 6 green parks. The grounds hold events year-round, with the Erie County Fair being the largest, and perfectly showcase the fair has to offer from barns and livestock, tractors and Native American Heritage Village, 4-H and Creative Arts buildings, 6 stages, including the main Grandstand stage for featured concert events, midway games and rides, and hundreds of food and merchandise vendors and various ‘pop-up’ event tents and areas throughout the grounds.
The Erie County Fair has become more accessible over recent years in part due to the user-friendly App complete with daily schedules and map. New this year, fairgoers will have the opportunity to follow various routes accessible via website or on the App. “In 2024, we are focusing on improving our guest experience,” says Alison Bukowski, Chief Marketing Officer. “We have created 10 digital routes to help provide an optimal experience and make the fairgrounds feel more manageable.” Routes vary in length and interest, encouraging fairgoers to explore new areas and discover hidden gems around the grounds.
Guests will also find 6 new photo opportunities throughout the grounds, providing a fun way for everyone to memorialize their fair experience. The team has also installed more directional signage to help guide fairgoers, too.
Last September, after the fair wrapped up, the team gathered to discuss the outcome of the 2023 fair, along with guest survey results. “We saw that fairgoers spent more time at the fair in 2023 which led to us focusing on improving the guest experience going into the 2024 fair,” says Alison. “We’ve added three new and free interactive exhibits this year, which each aim to meet different age groups who visit the grounds.”
The first is the Erie County Fairway, an 18-hole mini golf course created by members of the com-munity. “We invited groups in the area to design a miniature golf hole themed around the fair and agriculture, making this exhibit inspired by members right here in our community,” says Alison. The 18 holes were created by various groups including 4-H groups, classes, school clubs, and local architectural designers. “The course is going to be a great addition and we’re excited to see how it comes together.”
The second is Fair Bear’s Farmland, home of the Erie County Fair (ECF) mascot. “This ‘land’ brings together fairgoers’ favorite things and gives our beloved mascot a home,” says Alison. Fair Bear visits the barn at the top of the hour from 2-6pm for photos, hugs and high fives. Guests will also find live animals within the barn. “These animals are all unique and most can’t be found anywhere else on the grounds, like the Highland cow and calf pair sand miniature horses. We hope this provides families a reprieve from the outdoors and another space to make memories together.” The barn offers indoor seating, hands-on crafts and photo opportunities.
The third new experience is Touch-a-Truck. Each of the 12 days brings new vehicles to the fair-grounds, providing the opportunity for fairgoers of all ages to explore and climb aboard unique vehicles. “We hope kids and families have fun honking the horns and exploring the trucks,” says Alison. “It also gives companies in the area an opportunity to showcase their equipment.”
Along with these new interactive experiences, the fair is also bringing in over 10 new and thrilling entertainment acts for fairgoers of all ages. For the first time, the ECF will feature an All-Star Stunt Dog Show with shows 3x/day all 12 days. The dogs will perform agility acts, stunts and fun performances while promoting pet adoption and responsible pet ownership.
Also new this year will be Jet-Pack Flying Water Circus performed over an Olympic size pool. “This show is sure to provide thrill and excitement for all ages with flips and turns as the performers thrust across the pool. It’s definitely a must-see!”
Last but certainly not least, this year the ECF will feature a ‘retro’ thrill arena in celebration of the 100th year anniversary between the fair and Strates Shows. “This is the longest continuous exclusive relationship of any carnival midway in the country,” says Alison, “So it is certainly something to recognize.” The motordome thrill arena offers a classical carnival attraction that has not been seen at the Erie County Fair since the 1970s. The thrill arena motordrome is a silo-shaped, wooden cylinder inside a tented structure. Guests watch daredevil riders perform high-speech acrobatic tricks on vintage Indian & Harley Davidson motorcycles. Read more about this attraction in next week’s full article feature in The Villager.
Along with this entertainment, the ECF continues to bring showstopping concerts to The Buffalo New Grandstand. “Some of this year’s Grandstand Acts will take guests for a trip down memory lane, while others offer a fresh energy of up-and-coming artists.”
It seems hard to believe that all of this, along with returning favorites like the racing pigs, Hilby the Skinny German Juggle Boy, and the Ultimate Stunt Circus can fit into just 12 days along with hun-dreds of food vendors, demonstrations and thousands of animals. There’s so much to explore, each visit is unique each and every time. “We’re honored to be a part of so many core family summer memories, and we hope guests will return again and again, each experience better than the last.”
Presale tickets are on sale for $17 online through July 31, with prices increasing to the gate price of $22.60 on August 1. Several promo dates for reduced or free admission are available. For more information, full schedule and to purchase tickets visit https://www.ecfair.org/.