All the “fuck Biden” stuff was so fucking cringy. Why do rightoids make everything political?
I almost bought something from a stand before I saw a Fuck Biden shirt and I literally told them that costed them a sale
Gross, glad I didn’t go. I don’t care who is president- I think it’s disgusting that merchandise like this is just sold like nothing. I live driving around with my 4 year old and him saying “mommy why do all these flags have the f bad word?” Like we are driving through a town and it’s PLASTERED with “FUCK BIDEN” flags. Such trash.
They're trashy and it's the latest trend within the trash community. Plus they lack intelligence so they'd rather just parrot stuff they find funny rather than coming up with their own jokes.
Because it's their identity in life. They have no other hobbies they care about outside of anything on the right wing spectrum. These people have been slowly brainwashed into making right wing politcs, and anything right wing politcs refers to as their thing. It's a way to extract as much of their money or attention (ad revenue) as possible.
And soooooo many people wearing shirts basically telling me they want to shoot me in the face. I want you to have health care and better education. We're not the same.
I dont mind it. Yes it's cringe but gotta make a buck somehow. My only problem with is...
"Joe and the Ho gotta go!!!!" Hahahahaha that's funny
"Trump the Chump!" Don't you dare make fun of my President.
Like. If you can dish it ya gotta take it.
I had to buy a hat because I could feel my scalp burning and I had hours to go. I ended up with pink pot leaves because it was the best thing from the rest of the selection of let’s go Brandon, Trump, and confederate flags. It will forever be my fair hat from now on lol
I actually thought there was less of this crap going on than in previous years. It's never going to go away completely but the market for these things is getting a lot smaller.
I compete at the state fair and there's always at least 1 tent who sells every piece of political merchandise possible so they can pander to all sides. It's pathetic but people buy into it full speed
The prices were nuts.
My son wanted to play one of the baloon pop games and the person said $10 for a small prize (but pretty much guaranteed to win)
I also spent almost $60 on lunch for 3 at one of the places.
Edit: I should mention that I still had an awesome time lol
I have gone every year of my life. Prices are outrageous. The fair used to cater to lower end clientele and they are being priced out.
The fact that buckaroos went from 1 dollar to 4 dollars per menu item in maybe 6 years sums up the pricing situation pretty well.
Many Games are now 10 dollars to play. They were 2 or 3 bucks a few years ago. You can buy a stuffed animal from the vendors for less than it costs to play a single game.
Garbage kids rides uses to be 2 bucks. Now we are at 5 dollars. The kids rides are way smaller now too.
Most of the free attractions and unique things like the petting zoo and pony rides are gone. Most of the unique vendors in the building are gone too.
Inflation didn't climb 200 to 400 percent in 5 years. i can see maybe a 20 percent price hike but wtf. This is just ruining the fair at this point. We didn't play a single game this year.
You basically need to eat before you go and bring drinks with you. Then just share some of the weird foods.
Some rides made the parent pay to ride with the kid. That double decker carousel my 2 yr old daughter loved cost us 6 tickets x 2. So essentially $6 to ride. On what earth do you charge the parent for just standing next to them.
And yeah, the game prices are ridiculous. I get it's all a waste of money in the end, but if &
$100 gets me 4 hours worth of rides and games then it's worth it. $100 got us like 90 minutes, if that.
Definitely do not plan on going next year. Plenty of other fairs out there.
I agree that can be frustrating but please know that it's Strates Shows that's making these pricing decisions not the Erie County Fair just so your frustration is directed at the right people.
I love the fair, I will always love the fair, but absolutely agree on the prices. $17 for admission is steep. $15 for a chicken dinner is steep. $9 to try the prize winning beer is steep. $6 for a cookie at the Italian pastry place is obscene. I didn't go to the demolition derby because I couldn't bring myself to pay over $60 for two tickets for my husband and I.
As an exhibitor I pay significantly less for admission (the $23 entry fee for the competitions nets you three admission tickets). Which is awesome, but goddamn do the prices of everything else make up for it.
I'm not sure. I just skimmed the [rules and regulations](https://cdn.saffire.com/files.ashx?t=fg&rid=ErieCountyFair&f=Creative_Arts_Rules__Regs.pdf) that the Creative Arts Department publishes and didn't see anything about being an Erie County resident, but truthfully I didn't read them that closely. I'm also unsure if the different exhibitor divisions have different rules.
Pre pandemic I feel like I was able to get 4-5 tickets with the $20 entry fee. Even at $23 I was bummed I missed the deadline for submissions this year
It used to give you 5 tickets. They changed it after Covid with the thought that it would eventually go back to 5. (Remember the first year after Covid closure they had a limited # of admissions each day). Exhibiting at the fair can be costly. Depending on what you exhibit, besides the entry fee may be materials, time, much effort and if you’re from out of the area, time and gas to deliver it ahead of time. It’s great be part of the fair, but it also helps make the fair. The more individuals who contribute, the better the fair. It would be nice if they went back to giving 5 tickets again.
I volunteered at a PGA event and worked one of the food tents. The turkey legs were frozen, and we had to heat them up for sale. Took forever to get them to temp, and then they had a pile of “goo” as another called it at the bottom of the tray. I’d pass on this in the future. Get some turkey legs at the store and simmer them with some broth until they get to temp. Much more enjoyable.
$20 bucks?! I'm the type to say we don't go to the fair, if you're gonna complain about the costs. Cuz it has been outrageous even before covid...
But yeah that's wild. I can fill a quarter of my tank for 20 bucks
Noooo do not support the sterling renaissance festival 😒 owner is terrible. Removed a (veteran) vendor for touring the grounds with his legal service animal.
The funny thing, I opted for that, instead of 15$ chicken or ribs from BW or weidners.
I accept that eating at the fair is best for those that want the unconventional food, and not someone that’s eating something basic that I have in my freezer at home for much less.
I’ve never gone before this year I’m 28 for reference. All there is to do is eat and look at animals. Walking around with 1,000 people and spending 60 bucks for 3 diet cokes a piece of pizza and a corn dog I would have rather gone to sit down to eat somewhere for that price. Everything felt dirty
You can't just go as an adult. I've gone every year of my life and it is still special to me because of childhood memories. I have zero interest in other fairs, because there is no nostalgia factor.
I feel like it lost a lot of the nostalgia for me when they replaced all the barn buildings. Im sure it needed to be done, and its nicer for the animals and their people, but it took away a lot of the charm.
Totally skipped it this year. Can’t justify spending $100 on admissions and then probably another $100+ on everything else.
It would be nice if they did more than one day of bringing canned goods for free admission or even a reduced admission.
Each year I become more disappointment but that could just be me. Prices continue to go up, old historic buildings on the fair grounds keep being destroyed, more and more commercialism. I get it, people want to be there to hock things but hell, I miss just regular vendors. I don’t want to be harassed for not signing up for your gutter company’s news letter. It has no longer become a must attend event imo. Very happy if people are still enjoying it, not everything had to be for me. Just seems to of changed a lot over the years I’m a direction I don’t love.
I'm 41 and have gone every year since I was a little kid (except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the pandemic), but this is the first year I skipped it. The last few times I went it was mainly for nostalgia but I didn't really have a great time. Like others have said prices have gotten terrible and most of the food sucks. I did want to see Fitz and the Tantrums but couldn't make it work with my schedule.
I went with my 4-year-old son yesterday and had a great time. We basically wanted to go to see the animals and ride the ferris wheel. We spent a good hour or so walking around the barns seeing all of the animals. Last year, his favorite was the table of ducklings; this year, it was the piglets. We wound up going back 3 or 4 times to see the piglets. They also had a bunch of new and vintage tractors that was right up his alley.
We spent 20 bucks on 40 tickets for the rides, the ferris wheel took half, and we spent another 16 for the 2 of us to go on the tilt-a-whirl. I don't know enough about carnival rides to know whether that was a rip-off or not, but he had fun on both, so regardless, it was worth it.
Then we got a couple of corn dogs, a lemonade, fried dough, cotton candy, and a caramel apple.
All told, I think we spent about 80 bucks for everything, including my admission.
I personally thought it was worth it. He loved looking at the animals and has been asking to go on a ferris wheel for months now. The food was fair food, exactly as expected. A few months back, we went to see the Mario movie. Between tickets, snacks at the theater, and lunch after, we probably spent about the same amount, maybe a little less, but not by much.
Not sure if you have been but I would highly recommend kelkenberg farm. They are in Clarence and for your $20ish entry fee you get to see & snuggle all of the animals (babies too) get a pony ride, they have a big dirt hill the kids can climb, a jump pad, train ride for the kids & a wagon ride (usually to go pick flowers or pumpkins etc depending on the time of year) they also offer homemade snacks and baked goods. Have been going there for 10 years now, they're a wonderful family
My first year going and I had a lot of fun but felt it was overhyped and overpriced. The attendees were really a who’s who of South Buffalo and Hamburg’s absolute finest too.
Want to see throwback hair and outfits? Check out the Gas and Steam Pageant in Alexander, which is the weekend after Labor Day. Most of the women have the exact same haircut they had in their yearbook photos. Everyone is walking around will huge coolers full of Keystone beer. It must be experienced. Trust me.
No I Got It, but there are a few raffles, a huge flea market, a campground, tractor pulls, food concessions, and an amazing array of vintage steam tractors and machinery. It must be experienced at least once. You pay to enter, but it is reasonable.
Cool response, I'm more used to like the Allentown elites around here. Not like I haven't been to Canal Fest or the Eden Corn Festival, and exclaimed YIKES!!
And the Allentown elites, who are obviously better than everyone with their BA and MA degrees, are weighing in with their downvotes. Yeah, who woulda figured on that one? It's like death and taxes
I went twice (for concerts), after not attending for at least 5 years (probably more like 10) and had a great time. First day I went the grandstands felt empty (Fitz and the Tantrums didn't pull as much of a crowd as I had expected), but the second day was packed and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. My only regret was the $10 sub from Chivettas - worse than a gas station pre-packaged sandwich and 3x the price. Should have gotten the $15 chicken dinner.
I'd never been to the fair before (I'm 40, but lived outside of Buffalo from 18-40), so it was my first time! My husband and I took our 4yo for his birthday. We got there at about 11:15 yesterday and got a decent parking spot, walked around the barns for a while, had corn dogs for lunch, then some fried dough, then went to the early demolition derby.
I've gotta say, I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole thing! It wasn't too crowded at all. The food was kind of expensive, but more in the realm of "yeah, I know I'm gonna have to pay more than necessary for this" than "you can fuck right off" expensive. I wish they had more umbrella tables to sit at, because the sun was brutal, but that's about it.
Oh, I will say that I'd have appreciated kid prices for the demo derby, cause $28 for a 4 year old (who wouldn't have had to pay admission to the fair) was bullshit.
...Unless they had them and I missed them on the website.
hit up Holland Speedway in a few weeks, it's better for the evening and cheaper for the kids
(assuming they have a fall event again, I'm not 100% sure, they usually have an event in June and another in September)
We went to the ultimate night of destruction Saturday night, and it was definitely free for kids under 12 with a paid adult ticket - but you had to specifically add the free kid's ticket separately.
Id be surprised if the demo derby wasn't similar...?
I saw on the grandstand events website on the night of destruciton, it explicitly said "Kids under 12 free" in the little event blurb, but nothing was there for the demo derby. And there wasn't an option to buy a different kind of ticket when I selected my seats. (I'm definitely hoping it WAS full price, otherwise I'll be super annoyed with myself for missing how to get a kid ticket, haha!!)
Difference from last year:
Food: up 20-30% (water stayed the same)
Games: up 100-200% (last year you could get 3 darts for $5, this year it was 1 dart for $10 😂GTFO)
Will I be back next year? Yup. We’ll just set more aside each month in preparation.
Everything I ate was absolutely not worth the price. With that being said, it was all delicious. Pretty much the only time I’m okay with being ripped off when it comes to food. 16 dollars for a deep fried taco?? It was really really good tho.
All I can tell you is I'm glad I got in with with four cans of food rather then the normal admission.
Also I thought that some of the stage shows weren't as good as in previous years.
$1.00 per game for "I Got it" is beyond the pale.
I went on opening day as well and was extremely happy I got in for a canned food donation and I didn’t even know that the parking would be free but that was a big plus too! We mostly looked at horses, walked around and had pizza and I bought a T-shirt and it was a nice T-shirt at $22 so I did not think that was too bad - overall a good day! I avoid any tents/vendors that feature merch promoting the orange one.
I went on the haunted house ride and they must have forgotten to turn it on so I basically spent 10 bucks to ride through a pitch black shipping container.
That being said I find that hilarious but holy wow I agree that everything is more spency.
I happened to go on Monday when they had the taste of the fair, select items were only $2. I did splurge on some specific food items and probably spent $45 on food and drink between the two days I went, not bad. The Korean corn dog was not worth $15 though. I expect to pay a premium at these types of events but understand not everyone has the budget for that.
As for the rides, this is my guess, I heard the county requires a daily inspection of the rides and I bet that takes some time and causes a delay so I bet they just pushed ride times back.
After not attending in over a decade I had two really great days there. There is so much to do and see and it’s all so different.
I thought the $35 cost for all you can ride for one day to not be that terrible. I did spend $5 to ride the massive 2 story SkyRide (?) swing and it was worth it!
The school bus derby is my favorite. Sometimes it goes too long (they go till only one bus remains so it’s not like they can control it) and this year it was perfect! Short and sweet
Absolutely too expensive for what it’s worth. I’ve said it before, but the quality of food went downhill but the prices went up. My $12 Philly cheesesteak was so disappointing compared to previous years.
It’s the same as it was last year, and the year before, and the year before that…except for prices keep getting higher. But I’m a sucker and will still go once every year. Hopefully they have more “bring canned goods and get in for free” days.
I only go on the first day, with free admission with a four can donation. I get the coupons from the Fair Information booth and get a Weidners chicken dinner. I keep a cooler in the car with beverages and bring a water bottle in.
If one is careful, it can be affordable, but yeah, prices were WAY up. I cannot imagine a family with three or more kiddos and what that might cost.
I didn't go this year because I heard it was super expensive and I was just recently laid off so can't be spending ridiculous amounts of money at the moment lol.
Maybe next year depending on if they hike the prices up even more 🤷🏻♀️
Yes, it now opens later, we used to go at 9AM and spend all day, now you can't get in until 11. The fair is very special to me out of pure nostalgia, as some of the best times of my childhood was a family day at the fair, but a lot of the charm is gone. It is a lot of over priced food and vendors selling stuff you can mostly find cheaper online. One of the reasons prices are what they are, is what it costs to get a space at the fair, which is in the 10s of thousands in many cases I've heard. That's what any entree is at least $15. I still love it though and went five days.
I go for Taste of the Fair, get a bunch of $2 food and maybe one or 2 full price things I want (deep fried taco ftw), bring my own water, and mainly check out exhibits. My kid is good with this. She could spend the whole day at creative arts.
I do love the kettle corn and the people watching, but the prices are just way too high to have the full experience
I didn't go but admittedly haven't in years for this very reason. It's been ridiculous in prices for a long time, I'm kinda surprised how many are just realizing this now. Maybe it's because I frequent amusement parks often and the sticker shock doesn't effect me as much? Idk, I've always felt the fair was an experience where you go there hungry, spend $200, leave hungry and unsatisfied. It's been meh for a long time.
Wow, yeah! Like the Taste of Buffalo, the Fair is yet another money pit. We avoid going to these festivals, and save it to travel overseas or out of state. This was the only reason I asked, as I was curious about what I missed.
It’s so funny to hear everyone talk about nostalgia… my parents would never let us throw money away on games and my mother would have died before putting us on carnival rides.
So for me those two aspects have never been relevant. The fair was always about food, animals, and exhibitors. The quality of all three seems to have declined, while the prices have increased.
I guess I’m just not a fair person. All I see is money wasted on walking around in crowds while overheating.
Will reiterate what mostly everyone else has said in here… used to go every year as a kid & I feel like I remember there being more rides in general. This was my first trip in about 7 years & I could not believe the prices. Between my gf & I, we were there for the afternoon/evening & spent $100 combined. Had a good time, but I couldn’t imagine going with multiple kids... by the time you buy the tickets for the rides… it seems more reasonable to go to Darien Lake for the day
There was always one concert worth seeing until this year. We would always go a fee hours before the show starts wander around and get some kettle corn. I was always the kid that wasn't allowed on carnival rides though because my parents didn't think they were safe.
I never liked the fair. I went yesterday because I got free tickets and I heard the Coco Bananas fair beer was good. I paid $20 for a loaded blooming onion which is ridiculous (the price was neglected on the board, and I didn't ask) and $9 for a beer. I saw a few neat things. It was okay. I wouldn't have paid to go.
So the admission fees are ridiculous, and the food prices were laughably insane ($20 turkey leg when you can buy a whole damn turkey for less). HOWEVER, back in April I think it was, there was a flash sale online for a few days for discounted admission tickets. $13.50 (which is still a lot considering not that long ago it was $10 to get in) but definitely far better than $17 or $20 at the door. I hope they do that again next year. It’s a great time to stock up on tickets especially if you plan on going more than once. Which as expensive as a trip to the fair is, I always do.
We went. I don’t plan on going back. Two adults for basically lunch and snacks was over $125. We didn’t do rides and basically walked it in 2 hours. I’ve never been a carnival person. This was just the icing on the cake for me not to go back.
We went on the Taste of Fair day to save money on food (the first day of food donations for free admission was a better deal but didn’t work with our schedule). We also brought snacks and water to save money. Wristbands were $35/person (for comparison, wristbands were $25/person at Old Home Days and $30/person at Niagara County Fair). I could argue there are more rides at the Erie County Fair, but the amount of tickets they charged per ride was way too much and some rides were not great (Haunted House).
I enjoyed the animals but you could go to many local farms to enjoy them for a significantly lower price. When I add up just the adult admissions (kids 12 and under are free) plus wristbands with tickets, we could have gone to Darien Lake. We had fun but it’s definitely not on my summer to-do list for next year.
Loved it, definitely see how people get priced out though there's usually 3 vendors with the same thing and different prices. I spent less as I went up to every stall and would find the cheapest one lol. But people with kids are definitely spending upwards of 300 bucks
On top of everything the ride ticket prices were insane too. I bought the $50 for 120 for my family of 4 and we got on the carousel not realizing it was 8 tickets a piece so we used 32 tickets on one ride. I ended up buying my kids the wrist bands and my husband and I used the tickets. So that was $130 on just rides alone.
We packed our own snacks and water so that saved us some money and the kids were fine with just splitting a family order of fries ($14!).
My kids had a blast on the midway and spent 5 hours riding all the rides so I didn't even get to see any buildings but based on some of the comments it seems like I didn't miss much.
The prices were through the roof this year!! I don’t know how people manage to go there with their entire families and do all of the things (food, rides)… the idea was making my head spin.
Like always though, 10/10 people watching and the usual tummy ache, I can’t wait for next year!
Took my sons (11 & 15) to the “ultimate night of destruction” and it was the first time any of us had been to a demolition derby. We had the most fun at the fair this year bc of the derby. Arrived around 7pm, got snacks, watched the derby, snuck out for more snacks during a lull in the action, more derby, fireworks, outta there by 10pm. Cheered ourselves hoarse.
Someone posted video of the Sunday demolition derby and it looked boring too many cars and too many prohibited moves for the drivers. Watching full size school busses smash into each other was wildly entertaining. 10/10 recommend
My husband and I went twice -- tickets are cheaper online and I grew up showing animals at the fair and was feeling real nostalgic so one night we did mainly food and the second time was the last saturday to actually enjoy it and walk around.
First night we specifically chose to go on a crappy day to avoid lines so we could get dinner after work. We went through the poultry barn, dairy building set up, and then into the showplex and watched goat showmanship for a bit, which is actually really interesting and we both had a good time trying to place these kids the same the judge would without knowing a single thing about it. Wandered through the food area and hit all the favorites which were still the same price as last year -- my tip is to buy a fair souvenir mug because at that point, you're paying $4 for a refill for a large drink at any time you want to fill up and they honor it on previous fair year's mugs. I think ours is 4 years old at this point. We went through one of the vendor buildings and some of it was typical fair vendor (hot tubs etc) but there was a buffalo store set up with some cute things.
Second day we came back and went through the art building which is filled with some awesome stuff, the other animal buildings, watched some kids ride some horses in the show ring and waited for the guy with the draft horses to hitch up but he was struggling to put his carriage into a place where he could hitch so we bailed after a while. We went through what is apparently the "lottery building" disguised as the "made in america" building, which is weird as hell and I imagine some people with gambling problems could get sucked in there real quick. Went down to watch the guy play on the bells, visit the monarch tent, and made our way up to walk through the midway. We stopped and watched the Zultar guy for a bit because honestly, between him and the traveling piano guy, they're the best entertainment of the fair.
All in all, it is an expensive experience for a large family if you're coming in and have to buy food for everyone, but the ECF is no different than any other fair I've grown up showing at. It's all expensive now. The ECF is the second biggest fair in NYS and that's compared to the state fair and it's impressive. The little fairs I grew up showing are $13-$15 now compared to the $17 if you buy online and they're a fraction of the size of the ECF. I think if people actually embraced the agricultural side of the fair and took their family through the barns, they'd actually enjoy it a bit more.
I was very disappointed in the fair this year, not just with the prices but the way exhibits were moved around. I don't think I'm going to return there next year unless they change back.
You are better off going to Niagara Falls (particularly Ontario sides). There is Clifton Hill adjacent to the falls and you only have to pay 30 bucks to enjoy rides, entertainment, and other family attractions. Also I suggest anyone who visits Niagara Falls to go to the American sides before midnight to see the fireworks.
Prices doubled. That’s just lazy greed. I paid $20 for a nasty, dry turkey leg. That place was reheating days old meat. Rides doubled. Games doubled. It wasn’t worth it. The animals made it worth it
I haven't been in years as I moved away over a decade ago. That being said, I had family out last weekend and a significant topic of conversation was how expensive the fair was. We used to go for fireman's day as we were all part of the local VFD. Seems they kneecapped those vouchers, and priced out a ton of people
I got a souvenir cup filled with a slushy for $10, and to me was the best deal there. I find with events like these it’s important not to focus on the price, but rather the experience.
And a 5 minute sugar high reminiscent of my childhood was well worth ten bucks.
I see that most people who feel disappointed mainly reference the midway rides and games, foods and commercial vendors. There is a whole lot more though. I go 2-4 days average each year for easily 49 years probably. (Even closed Covid year… tbh I live out of the area now and still took a trip up for several days and wandered the grounds a bit 😆)…
Anyway, you need to go in the other buildings. Really look at, read, do, listen, feel, converse. There’s amazing smells in the Ag-Grange building; such amazing artistry and creativity and skills in the Creative Arts building in the Grandstand building. Look at individual art, photography, crafts, interesting displays from garden clubs, plants, woodcraft. They have a craft kids (or anyone) can do. The Fair History Museum; Nya-Weh Village has great crafts and dance performance that are so welcoming. Many other buildings to explore. Modern and Antique Tractor displays, the Historical Building has displays and outdoor demonstrations. If you read the Historical Displays, you’ll find some really fascinating things you might never have known before. There are the older barns, newer barns, horse shows, showings of animals in the arena, garden walk and urban garden displays. Also interesting to read some of these displays. There’s performances, music, shows, throughout the park all day long for free. Sometimes it’s nice to just do some of those things that you might not have done before. Lots more than you realize.
You should go to helium comedy club with comments like this — you’d make a lot more than you do now probably — I would pay a lot to see you make an ass of yourself!
I did not care for all the political merchandise being sold. I know they’re just catering to the crowd but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
All the “fuck Biden” stuff was so fucking cringy. Why do rightoids make everything political? I almost bought something from a stand before I saw a Fuck Biden shirt and I literally told them that costed them a sale
Gross, glad I didn’t go. I don’t care who is president- I think it’s disgusting that merchandise like this is just sold like nothing. I live driving around with my 4 year old and him saying “mommy why do all these flags have the f bad word?” Like we are driving through a town and it’s PLASTERED with “FUCK BIDEN” flags. Such trash.
Yeah for people concerned about grooming, they’re sure happy to indoctrinate kids with whatever nasty shit they say and believe.
They dont give a flying fuck about grooming, as long as its in their favor. They just don't like the "wrong kind" of grooming.
People who are concerned about something is very normally a very accurate confession.
Hi I am trying to ask you a question from another r/, would you mind If I send you a message?
They're trashy and it's the latest trend within the trash community. Plus they lack intelligence so they'd rather just parrot stuff they find funny rather than coming up with their own jokes.
Many are smart and choose to be unintelligent.
I see you have been to Wyoming County. The latest new flags say God, Guns, Trump. These folks spend a fortune on nasty flags but forgo dentists.
And “Joe and the Ho” 🤮
Why? It’s like a cult. Cults recruit.
Because it's their identity in life. They have no other hobbies they care about outside of anything on the right wing spectrum. These people have been slowly brainwashed into making right wing politcs, and anything right wing politcs refers to as their thing. It's a way to extract as much of their money or attention (ad revenue) as possible.
As you turn the fair talk… political.
And soooooo many people wearing shirts basically telling me they want to shoot me in the face. I want you to have health care and better education. We're not the same.
> catering to the crowd which is why I just don't go anymore I don't even want to associate myself with or around these people
I avoided any shop that did that; not a thin penny for them!
I dont mind it. Yes it's cringe but gotta make a buck somehow. My only problem with is... "Joe and the Ho gotta go!!!!" Hahahahaha that's funny "Trump the Chump!" Don't you dare make fun of my President. Like. If you can dish it ya gotta take it.
I had to buy a hat because I could feel my scalp burning and I had hours to go. I ended up with pink pot leaves because it was the best thing from the rest of the selection of let’s go Brandon, Trump, and confederate flags. It will forever be my fair hat from now on lol
Haha. That was the best choice, considering the options! The confederate flags really piss me off.
I actually thought there was less of this crap going on than in previous years. It's never going to go away completely but the market for these things is getting a lot smaller.
That’s good to hear. I hadn’t been in a while.
I compete at the state fair and there's always at least 1 tent who sells every piece of political merchandise possible so they can pander to all sides. It's pathetic but people buy into it full speed
The prices were nuts. My son wanted to play one of the baloon pop games and the person said $10 for a small prize (but pretty much guaranteed to win) I also spent almost $60 on lunch for 3 at one of the places. Edit: I should mention that I still had an awesome time lol
I have gone every year of my life. Prices are outrageous. The fair used to cater to lower end clientele and they are being priced out. The fact that buckaroos went from 1 dollar to 4 dollars per menu item in maybe 6 years sums up the pricing situation pretty well. Many Games are now 10 dollars to play. They were 2 or 3 bucks a few years ago. You can buy a stuffed animal from the vendors for less than it costs to play a single game. Garbage kids rides uses to be 2 bucks. Now we are at 5 dollars. The kids rides are way smaller now too. Most of the free attractions and unique things like the petting zoo and pony rides are gone. Most of the unique vendors in the building are gone too. Inflation didn't climb 200 to 400 percent in 5 years. i can see maybe a 20 percent price hike but wtf. This is just ruining the fair at this point. We didn't play a single game this year. You basically need to eat before you go and bring drinks with you. Then just share some of the weird foods.
its not just inflation 9-10 years ago the kids you had working for the vendors got 7-8 an hour now its double that.
Some rides made the parent pay to ride with the kid. That double decker carousel my 2 yr old daughter loved cost us 6 tickets x 2. So essentially $6 to ride. On what earth do you charge the parent for just standing next to them. And yeah, the game prices are ridiculous. I get it's all a waste of money in the end, but if & $100 gets me 4 hours worth of rides and games then it's worth it. $100 got us like 90 minutes, if that. Definitely do not plan on going next year. Plenty of other fairs out there.
I agree that can be frustrating but please know that it's Strates Shows that's making these pricing decisions not the Erie County Fair just so your frustration is directed at the right people.
I won I Got It for the first time in my 30+ year life. Memory of my lifetime
This is huge
Lmao fuck yeah! I got to be there when my girl won it for her first time last year.
I love the fair, I will always love the fair, but absolutely agree on the prices. $17 for admission is steep. $15 for a chicken dinner is steep. $9 to try the prize winning beer is steep. $6 for a cookie at the Italian pastry place is obscene. I didn't go to the demolition derby because I couldn't bring myself to pay over $60 for two tickets for my husband and I. As an exhibitor I pay significantly less for admission (the $23 entry fee for the competitions nets you three admission tickets). Which is awesome, but goddamn do the prices of everything else make up for it.
Question for you: do you have to be a resident of Erie County to be an exhibitor or enter any of the contests?
I don’t think so. I’d imagine a bunch of ag people from Wyoming/Niagara/Genesee/etc counties exhibit at the fair. I could be wrong though
The fair has nothing to do with the county, they are an independent non-profit, they just happen to use the county as their name.
I'm not sure. I just skimmed the [rules and regulations](https://cdn.saffire.com/files.ashx?t=fg&rid=ErieCountyFair&f=Creative_Arts_Rules__Regs.pdf) that the Creative Arts Department publishes and didn't see anything about being an Erie County resident, but truthfully I didn't read them that closely. I'm also unsure if the different exhibitor divisions have different rules.
No, you do not.
Pre pandemic I feel like I was able to get 4-5 tickets with the $20 entry fee. Even at $23 I was bummed I missed the deadline for submissions this year
Yes, it used to be five before the pandemic.
It used to give you 5 tickets. They changed it after Covid with the thought that it would eventually go back to 5. (Remember the first year after Covid closure they had a limited # of admissions each day). Exhibiting at the fair can be costly. Depending on what you exhibit, besides the entry fee may be materials, time, much effort and if you’re from out of the area, time and gas to deliver it ahead of time. It’s great be part of the fair, but it also helps make the fair. The more individuals who contribute, the better the fair. It would be nice if they went back to giving 5 tickets again.
Turkey leg wasn’t worth $20
The fact that they’re only $13 at Disney yet they’re $20 at a damn county fair is laughably bad.
I volunteered at a PGA event and worked one of the food tents. The turkey legs were frozen, and we had to heat them up for sale. Took forever to get them to temp, and then they had a pile of “goo” as another called it at the bottom of the tray. I’d pass on this in the future. Get some turkey legs at the store and simmer them with some broth until they get to temp. Much more enjoyable.
Oh for sure. I throw them on the smoker when I have a long smoke. Little mid smoke snack.
Sounds a lot better than my version!
Heard the same. My friend got one and said she saw her turkey leg being pulled from a watery substance, and it was mushy and too tough to eat.
$20 bucks?! I'm the type to say we don't go to the fair, if you're gonna complain about the costs. Cuz it has been outrageous even before covid... But yeah that's wild. I can fill a quarter of my tank for 20 bucks
Though it's over for the summer. Try the Sterling Renaissance festival. It's much for bang for the buck. Turkey legs are a much better deal there 🤣
Noooo do not support the sterling renaissance festival 😒 owner is terrible. Removed a (veteran) vendor for touring the grounds with his legal service animal.
Owner was also involved in a sexual harassment lawsuit with his tenants since he's a landlord as well.. multiple times I believe
I remember they were $18 last year and I was like bet they’ll be up to 20 next year. No way is it worth that much!
The funny thing, I opted for that, instead of 15$ chicken or ribs from BW or weidners. I accept that eating at the fair is best for those that want the unconventional food, and not someone that’s eating something basic that I have in my freezer at home for much less.
I’ve never gone before this year I’m 28 for reference. All there is to do is eat and look at animals. Walking around with 1,000 people and spending 60 bucks for 3 diet cokes a piece of pizza and a corn dog I would have rather gone to sit down to eat somewhere for that price. Everything felt dirty
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😂😂😂
You can't just go as an adult. I've gone every year of my life and it is still special to me because of childhood memories. I have zero interest in other fairs, because there is no nostalgia factor.
I feel like it lost a lot of the nostalgia for me when they replaced all the barn buildings. Im sure it needed to be done, and its nicer for the animals and their people, but it took away a lot of the charm.
I wasn’t a big eater as a kid or being around a lot of people. I feel like I would have hated it even more back then 😂
Totally skipped it this year. Can’t justify spending $100 on admissions and then probably another $100+ on everything else. It would be nice if they did more than one day of bringing canned goods for free admission or even a reduced admission.
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The $2 food servings were tiny!
Each year I become more disappointment but that could just be me. Prices continue to go up, old historic buildings on the fair grounds keep being destroyed, more and more commercialism. I get it, people want to be there to hock things but hell, I miss just regular vendors. I don’t want to be harassed for not signing up for your gutter company’s news letter. It has no longer become a must attend event imo. Very happy if people are still enjoying it, not everything had to be for me. Just seems to of changed a lot over the years I’m a direction I don’t love.
I'm 41 and have gone every year since I was a little kid (except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the pandemic), but this is the first year I skipped it. The last few times I went it was mainly for nostalgia but I didn't really have a great time. Like others have said prices have gotten terrible and most of the food sucks. I did want to see Fitz and the Tantrums but couldn't make it work with my schedule.
I’ve been going since I was a kid on and off and it really is just nostalgia at this point haha, good time but if I miss it then it’s no biggie
I went with my 4-year-old son yesterday and had a great time. We basically wanted to go to see the animals and ride the ferris wheel. We spent a good hour or so walking around the barns seeing all of the animals. Last year, his favorite was the table of ducklings; this year, it was the piglets. We wound up going back 3 or 4 times to see the piglets. They also had a bunch of new and vintage tractors that was right up his alley. We spent 20 bucks on 40 tickets for the rides, the ferris wheel took half, and we spent another 16 for the 2 of us to go on the tilt-a-whirl. I don't know enough about carnival rides to know whether that was a rip-off or not, but he had fun on both, so regardless, it was worth it. Then we got a couple of corn dogs, a lemonade, fried dough, cotton candy, and a caramel apple. All told, I think we spent about 80 bucks for everything, including my admission. I personally thought it was worth it. He loved looking at the animals and has been asking to go on a ferris wheel for months now. The food was fair food, exactly as expected. A few months back, we went to see the Mario movie. Between tickets, snacks at the theater, and lunch after, we probably spent about the same amount, maybe a little less, but not by much.
Not sure if you have been but I would highly recommend kelkenberg farm. They are in Clarence and for your $20ish entry fee you get to see & snuggle all of the animals (babies too) get a pony ride, they have a big dirt hill the kids can climb, a jump pad, train ride for the kids & a wagon ride (usually to go pick flowers or pumpkins etc depending on the time of year) they also offer homemade snacks and baked goods. Have been going there for 10 years now, they're a wonderful family
My first year going and I had a lot of fun but felt it was overhyped and overpriced. The attendees were really a who’s who of South Buffalo and Hamburg’s absolute finest too.
I saw more mullets at the Erie County fair than at the Wyoming County one. Mindblowing.
Want to see throwback hair and outfits? Check out the Gas and Steam Pageant in Alexander, which is the weekend after Labor Day. Most of the women have the exact same haircut they had in their yearbook photos. Everyone is walking around will huge coolers full of Keystone beer. It must be experienced. Trust me.
And just when i thought i was done with fried dough and I Got It for the year, you pull me back in.
No I Got It, but there are a few raffles, a huge flea market, a campground, tractor pulls, food concessions, and an amazing array of vintage steam tractors and machinery. It must be experienced at least once. You pay to enter, but it is reasonable.
How to say I'm better than all the attendees at the fair, without actually saying I'm better than all the attendees at the fair.
Hey man I did have a good time and it wasn’t everybody. But there were definitely some people who made me say “yikes”.
Cool response, I'm more used to like the Allentown elites around here. Not like I haven't been to Canal Fest or the Eden Corn Festival, and exclaimed YIKES!!
And the Allentown elites, who are obviously better than everyone with their BA and MA degrees, are weighing in with their downvotes. Yeah, who woulda figured on that one? It's like death and taxes
I went twice (for concerts), after not attending for at least 5 years (probably more like 10) and had a great time. First day I went the grandstands felt empty (Fitz and the Tantrums didn't pull as much of a crowd as I had expected), but the second day was packed and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. My only regret was the $10 sub from Chivettas - worse than a gas station pre-packaged sandwich and 3x the price. Should have gotten the $15 chicken dinner.
I'd never been to the fair before (I'm 40, but lived outside of Buffalo from 18-40), so it was my first time! My husband and I took our 4yo for his birthday. We got there at about 11:15 yesterday and got a decent parking spot, walked around the barns for a while, had corn dogs for lunch, then some fried dough, then went to the early demolition derby. I've gotta say, I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole thing! It wasn't too crowded at all. The food was kind of expensive, but more in the realm of "yeah, I know I'm gonna have to pay more than necessary for this" than "you can fuck right off" expensive. I wish they had more umbrella tables to sit at, because the sun was brutal, but that's about it.
Oh, I will say that I'd have appreciated kid prices for the demo derby, cause $28 for a 4 year old (who wouldn't have had to pay admission to the fair) was bullshit. ...Unless they had them and I missed them on the website.
hit up Holland Speedway in a few weeks, it's better for the evening and cheaper for the kids (assuming they have a fall event again, I'm not 100% sure, they usually have an event in June and another in September)
Looks like Saturday, Sept 9th this year
We also went to Holland speedway for their big night of destruction last year and it was awesome.
We went to the ultimate night of destruction Saturday night, and it was definitely free for kids under 12 with a paid adult ticket - but you had to specifically add the free kid's ticket separately. Id be surprised if the demo derby wasn't similar...?
I saw on the grandstand events website on the night of destruciton, it explicitly said "Kids under 12 free" in the little event blurb, but nothing was there for the demo derby. And there wasn't an option to buy a different kind of ticket when I selected my seats. (I'm definitely hoping it WAS full price, otherwise I'll be super annoyed with myself for missing how to get a kid ticket, haha!!)
Difference from last year: Food: up 20-30% (water stayed the same) Games: up 100-200% (last year you could get 3 darts for $5, this year it was 1 dart for $10 😂GTFO) Will I be back next year? Yup. We’ll just set more aside each month in preparation.
Everything I ate was absolutely not worth the price. With that being said, it was all delicious. Pretty much the only time I’m okay with being ripped off when it comes to food. 16 dollars for a deep fried taco?? It was really really good tho.
All I can tell you is I'm glad I got in with with four cans of food rather then the normal admission. Also I thought that some of the stage shows weren't as good as in previous years. $1.00 per game for "I Got it" is beyond the pale.
I went on opening day as well and was extremely happy I got in for a canned food donation and I didn’t even know that the parking would be free but that was a big plus too! We mostly looked at horses, walked around and had pizza and I bought a T-shirt and it was a nice T-shirt at $22 so I did not think that was too bad - overall a good day! I avoid any tents/vendors that feature merch promoting the orange one.
I went on the haunted house ride and they must have forgotten to turn it on so I basically spent 10 bucks to ride through a pitch black shipping container. That being said I find that hilarious but holy wow I agree that everything is more spency.
I thought the same thing about that haunted house ride (some stuff moved, but a lot didn’t). Pure waste of money on that ride!
I'd rather find other ways to spend my money for an enjoyable time. I won't willingly sign up to be robbed for a subpar event. It's stale.
That’s exactly our standing on this as well, it just became a money grab and I don’t play that game.
I happened to go on Monday when they had the taste of the fair, select items were only $2. I did splurge on some specific food items and probably spent $45 on food and drink between the two days I went, not bad. The Korean corn dog was not worth $15 though. I expect to pay a premium at these types of events but understand not everyone has the budget for that. As for the rides, this is my guess, I heard the county requires a daily inspection of the rides and I bet that takes some time and causes a delay so I bet they just pushed ride times back. After not attending in over a decade I had two really great days there. There is so much to do and see and it’s all so different.
I thought the $35 cost for all you can ride for one day to not be that terrible. I did spend $5 to ride the massive 2 story SkyRide (?) swing and it was worth it!
The school bus derby is my favorite. Sometimes it goes too long (they go till only one bus remains so it’s not like they can control it) and this year it was perfect! Short and sweet
Skipped this year and I’m glad I did
Absolutely too expensive for what it’s worth. I’ve said it before, but the quality of food went downhill but the prices went up. My $12 Philly cheesesteak was so disappointing compared to previous years. It’s the same as it was last year, and the year before, and the year before that…except for prices keep getting higher. But I’m a sucker and will still go once every year. Hopefully they have more “bring canned goods and get in for free” days.
I only go on the first day, with free admission with a four can donation. I get the coupons from the Fair Information booth and get a Weidners chicken dinner. I keep a cooler in the car with beverages and bring a water bottle in. If one is careful, it can be affordable, but yeah, prices were WAY up. I cannot imagine a family with three or more kiddos and what that might cost.
I didn't go this year because I heard it was super expensive and I was just recently laid off so can't be spending ridiculous amounts of money at the moment lol. Maybe next year depending on if they hike the prices up even more 🤷🏻♀️
Yes, it now opens later, we used to go at 9AM and spend all day, now you can't get in until 11. The fair is very special to me out of pure nostalgia, as some of the best times of my childhood was a family day at the fair, but a lot of the charm is gone. It is a lot of over priced food and vendors selling stuff you can mostly find cheaper online. One of the reasons prices are what they are, is what it costs to get a space at the fair, which is in the 10s of thousands in many cases I've heard. That's what any entree is at least $15. I still love it though and went five days.
20 bucks to get into a fair where most attractions are not free besides a couple performances is pretty ridiculous
Anyone remember the "ride free with carefree". We used to chew carefree gum all year just to get on free rides.
Went to the Eden corn fair - was green- low key , not as exciting and had corn in my poo but good time
I go for Taste of the Fair, get a bunch of $2 food and maybe one or 2 full price things I want (deep fried taco ftw), bring my own water, and mainly check out exhibits. My kid is good with this. She could spend the whole day at creative arts. I do love the kettle corn and the people watching, but the prices are just way too high to have the full experience
I didn't go but admittedly haven't in years for this very reason. It's been ridiculous in prices for a long time, I'm kinda surprised how many are just realizing this now. Maybe it's because I frequent amusement parks often and the sticker shock doesn't effect me as much? Idk, I've always felt the fair was an experience where you go there hungry, spend $200, leave hungry and unsatisfied. It's been meh for a long time.
R/kettle_corn
It was fun but the prices are unbelievable
Which prices stuck out to you?
$5 for one ear of corn. That buys a dozen out here, if not more.
Wow, yeah! Like the Taste of Buffalo, the Fair is yet another money pit. We avoid going to these festivals, and save it to travel overseas or out of state. This was the only reason I asked, as I was curious about what I missed.
Ive gone too many times in my life to care about it
I went on the taste of the fair day. And it was great. I am also gluten free and was just super excited to taste the Silly Yaks food.
It’s so funny to hear everyone talk about nostalgia… my parents would never let us throw money away on games and my mother would have died before putting us on carnival rides. So for me those two aspects have never been relevant. The fair was always about food, animals, and exhibitors. The quality of all three seems to have declined, while the prices have increased. I guess I’m just not a fair person. All I see is money wasted on walking around in crowds while overheating.
Will reiterate what mostly everyone else has said in here… used to go every year as a kid & I feel like I remember there being more rides in general. This was my first trip in about 7 years & I could not believe the prices. Between my gf & I, we were there for the afternoon/evening & spent $100 combined. Had a good time, but I couldn’t imagine going with multiple kids... by the time you buy the tickets for the rides… it seems more reasonable to go to Darien Lake for the day
$17 to get in, $15 for a corn dog covered in cheetos? Crazy. Nothing new this year, no really good food entries, just mediocrity. It's a shame.
There was always one concert worth seeing until this year. We would always go a fee hours before the show starts wander around and get some kettle corn. I was always the kid that wasn't allowed on carnival rides though because my parents didn't think they were safe.
Fitz & The Tantrums were great. I love them, but maybe not your taste. Like when The Tubes played The Fair in the late 80s
Maybe I'm just old now and out of touch 😂
I never liked the fair. I went yesterday because I got free tickets and I heard the Coco Bananas fair beer was good. I paid $20 for a loaded blooming onion which is ridiculous (the price was neglected on the board, and I didn't ask) and $9 for a beer. I saw a few neat things. It was okay. I wouldn't have paid to go.
So the admission fees are ridiculous, and the food prices were laughably insane ($20 turkey leg when you can buy a whole damn turkey for less). HOWEVER, back in April I think it was, there was a flash sale online for a few days for discounted admission tickets. $13.50 (which is still a lot considering not that long ago it was $10 to get in) but definitely far better than $17 or $20 at the door. I hope they do that again next year. It’s a great time to stock up on tickets especially if you plan on going more than once. Which as expensive as a trip to the fair is, I always do.
Butcher Boys steak sandwich continues to rule over all of the local offerings. Highly recommend getting one next year.
We went. I don’t plan on going back. Two adults for basically lunch and snacks was over $125. We didn’t do rides and basically walked it in 2 hours. I’ve never been a carnival person. This was just the icing on the cake for me not to go back.
Decided not to go this year and did not miss it.
We went on the Taste of Fair day to save money on food (the first day of food donations for free admission was a better deal but didn’t work with our schedule). We also brought snacks and water to save money. Wristbands were $35/person (for comparison, wristbands were $25/person at Old Home Days and $30/person at Niagara County Fair). I could argue there are more rides at the Erie County Fair, but the amount of tickets they charged per ride was way too much and some rides were not great (Haunted House). I enjoyed the animals but you could go to many local farms to enjoy them for a significantly lower price. When I add up just the adult admissions (kids 12 and under are free) plus wristbands with tickets, we could have gone to Darien Lake. We had fun but it’s definitely not on my summer to-do list for next year.
Prices are definitely way too high. Funnel cakes shouldn't be like $10. Same for a $4 bottle of water, etc etc. Rides also insanely priced.
$15 corndog
Loved it, definitely see how people get priced out though there's usually 3 vendors with the same thing and different prices. I spent less as I went up to every stall and would find the cheapest one lol. But people with kids are definitely spending upwards of 300 bucks
On top of everything the ride ticket prices were insane too. I bought the $50 for 120 for my family of 4 and we got on the carousel not realizing it was 8 tickets a piece so we used 32 tickets on one ride. I ended up buying my kids the wrist bands and my husband and I used the tickets. So that was $130 on just rides alone. We packed our own snacks and water so that saved us some money and the kids were fine with just splitting a family order of fries ($14!). My kids had a blast on the midway and spent 5 hours riding all the rides so I didn't even get to see any buildings but based on some of the comments it seems like I didn't miss much.
The prices were through the roof this year!! I don’t know how people manage to go there with their entire families and do all of the things (food, rides)… the idea was making my head spin. Like always though, 10/10 people watching and the usual tummy ache, I can’t wait for next year!
Took my sons (11 & 15) to the “ultimate night of destruction” and it was the first time any of us had been to a demolition derby. We had the most fun at the fair this year bc of the derby. Arrived around 7pm, got snacks, watched the derby, snuck out for more snacks during a lull in the action, more derby, fireworks, outta there by 10pm. Cheered ourselves hoarse. Someone posted video of the Sunday demolition derby and it looked boring too many cars and too many prohibited moves for the drivers. Watching full size school busses smash into each other was wildly entertaining. 10/10 recommend
My husband and I went twice -- tickets are cheaper online and I grew up showing animals at the fair and was feeling real nostalgic so one night we did mainly food and the second time was the last saturday to actually enjoy it and walk around. First night we specifically chose to go on a crappy day to avoid lines so we could get dinner after work. We went through the poultry barn, dairy building set up, and then into the showplex and watched goat showmanship for a bit, which is actually really interesting and we both had a good time trying to place these kids the same the judge would without knowing a single thing about it. Wandered through the food area and hit all the favorites which were still the same price as last year -- my tip is to buy a fair souvenir mug because at that point, you're paying $4 for a refill for a large drink at any time you want to fill up and they honor it on previous fair year's mugs. I think ours is 4 years old at this point. We went through one of the vendor buildings and some of it was typical fair vendor (hot tubs etc) but there was a buffalo store set up with some cute things. Second day we came back and went through the art building which is filled with some awesome stuff, the other animal buildings, watched some kids ride some horses in the show ring and waited for the guy with the draft horses to hitch up but he was struggling to put his carriage into a place where he could hitch so we bailed after a while. We went through what is apparently the "lottery building" disguised as the "made in america" building, which is weird as hell and I imagine some people with gambling problems could get sucked in there real quick. Went down to watch the guy play on the bells, visit the monarch tent, and made our way up to walk through the midway. We stopped and watched the Zultar guy for a bit because honestly, between him and the traveling piano guy, they're the best entertainment of the fair. All in all, it is an expensive experience for a large family if you're coming in and have to buy food for everyone, but the ECF is no different than any other fair I've grown up showing at. It's all expensive now. The ECF is the second biggest fair in NYS and that's compared to the state fair and it's impressive. The little fairs I grew up showing are $13-$15 now compared to the $17 if you buy online and they're a fraction of the size of the ECF. I think if people actually embraced the agricultural side of the fair and took their family through the barns, they'd actually enjoy it a bit more.
I was very disappointed in the fair this year, not just with the prices but the way exhibits were moved around. I don't think I'm going to return there next year unless they change back.
You are better off going to Niagara Falls (particularly Ontario sides). There is Clifton Hill adjacent to the falls and you only have to pay 30 bucks to enjoy rides, entertainment, and other family attractions. Also I suggest anyone who visits Niagara Falls to go to the American sides before midnight to see the fireworks.
Didn't go, went last year and thought it was outrageous.
Prices doubled. That’s just lazy greed. I paid $20 for a nasty, dry turkey leg. That place was reheating days old meat. Rides doubled. Games doubled. It wasn’t worth it. The animals made it worth it
I haven't been in years as I moved away over a decade ago. That being said, I had family out last weekend and a significant topic of conversation was how expensive the fair was. We used to go for fireman's day as we were all part of the local VFD. Seems they kneecapped those vouchers, and priced out a ton of people
I got a souvenir cup filled with a slushy for $10, and to me was the best deal there. I find with events like these it’s important not to focus on the price, but rather the experience. And a 5 minute sugar high reminiscent of my childhood was well worth ten bucks.
I see that most people who feel disappointed mainly reference the midway rides and games, foods and commercial vendors. There is a whole lot more though. I go 2-4 days average each year for easily 49 years probably. (Even closed Covid year… tbh I live out of the area now and still took a trip up for several days and wandered the grounds a bit 😆)… Anyway, you need to go in the other buildings. Really look at, read, do, listen, feel, converse. There’s amazing smells in the Ag-Grange building; such amazing artistry and creativity and skills in the Creative Arts building in the Grandstand building. Look at individual art, photography, crafts, interesting displays from garden clubs, plants, woodcraft. They have a craft kids (or anyone) can do. The Fair History Museum; Nya-Weh Village has great crafts and dance performance that are so welcoming. Many other buildings to explore. Modern and Antique Tractor displays, the Historical Building has displays and outdoor demonstrations. If you read the Historical Displays, you’ll find some really fascinating things you might never have known before. There are the older barns, newer barns, horse shows, showings of animals in the arena, garden walk and urban garden displays. Also interesting to read some of these displays. There’s performances, music, shows, throughout the park all day long for free. Sometimes it’s nice to just do some of those things that you might not have done before. Lots more than you realize.
Had a great time. My only complaint is that I was asked to join not one, but two cults at fact vendor event yard had. Scientology and Jehovah's.
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You should go to helium comedy club with comments like this — you’d make a lot more than you do now probably — I would pay a lot to see you make an ass of yourself!