Prospects for the 2021 Sunshine Fair are getting better and better.
“Amazingly, as it looks now, we’ll be at full capacity, like we were before COVID,” Fair President Doug Cater said last week.
His announcement followed Governor Andrew Cuomo’s relaxing of COVID rules and announcing earlier in the week that the State Fair will run at full capacity.
It was only in early May that the Fair Board decided to have a Fair at all this year. Then, Mr. Cater was unsure about capacity levels and said mask-wearing will be mandatory, vaccination or not.
That’s changed.
Mild protocols remain––hand sanitation stations––but mask-wearing will be on the honor system; if you’re not vaccinated, wear a mask.
“That’s unless we’re told differently in August,” Mr. Cater said.
And as the Fair returns to normal, it will show off all features: demolition derbies, all livestock shows, tractor and truck pulls, Heritage Village, a tiger show, racing pigs, the circus, midway and more.
“We’ll have all the events we usually have,” Mr. Cater said.
A new attraction that he called “one of the highlights of the Fair” will be Taste of New York, which will offer wine-tasting and other treats.
Also, Mr. Cater said, Saturday of Fair Week will be Military Day, and the US Infantry Band will perform.
There’s more landscaping on the Fairgrounds, including a fountain and flower beds by the horse barns.
“The grounds will be the nicest they’ve ever looked, perhaps,” Mr. Cater said.
People have peppered him with questions about the Fair for weeks, indicating that after 15 months, everyone’s eager to get out and enjoy themselves.
“We’re looking forward to very good attendance, larger than it’s been in years,” Mr. Cater said. “People are ready to have fun.”