Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's fair season!
If you're a Niagara County resident or a Western New Yorker who can't wait for the beginning of all the exciting fair happenings toward the middle of August, the 2024 Niagara County Fair is ongoing now through Sunday, Aug. 4.
The Niagara County Fair opened its gates on Wednesday in Lockport with great attendance for the annual Farm-City breakfast and the antique tractor parade. But there's many more events to catch through Sunday, including some new and unique entertainment acts.
"We have Alfred E. Gator and his tiny swamp house truck that will be meandering through the grounds interacting with kids and families, we also have another strolling act called Oakley the Tree Man, which is a big tree walking through the grounds, he'll be there to talk about his forest lineage. And then we also have the Pork Chop Revue, which is a live pig entertainment act that can be going on," said Justin Rogers, director of the Niagara County Fair and the county's Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Some returning happenings this year is a cornhole tournament on Saturday, the County Sheriff's Office giving a K-9 demonstration, and Niagara Down Under Kangaroo Encounters. The fair's livestock auction takes place on Friday, and of course, there's the unique selection of fair food offered every year, whether it'd be getting an ice cream sundae at the Milk Bar or trying some BBQ from a new vendor.
"We have over 28 different food vendors this year, which is a record for us," Rogers noted.
Among some of the fair's delicacies this year includes a new specialty lemonade stand near the I-Got-It tent this year, Lumos & Nox, a Harry Potter-inspired lemonade stand that has unique flavors and is reasonably priced for your typical fair experience.
The 4-H and the agricultural exhibits are always a big part of the Niagara County fair every year, whether it'd be through the livestock auction or the various live animal shows going on throughout the days at the fair. The newcomers and returnees to the fair have to take a stroll through the barns, which Rogers mentions are full this year, which is a nice change of pace since the pandemic years.
"We could even use more space with the amount of interest that we have from our kids and the animals that they want to show," Rogers said.
Admission for this year's fair is $10 per-person, while kids ages 6 and under are free. Sunday is an exception at $7 per-person, or $20 per carload. If you are active military, veteran or first responder, you can also get in for free on Sunday only.
The hours for this year's fair are Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-to-10 p.m. ET, and Sunday, 10 a.m.-to-6 p.m. ET.