Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - The annual Niagara County Fair is back this week with food, fun, games, live music, parades, animal shows and more for all ages to come out and enjoy starting Wednesday August 3rd through the 7th.
"The fairgoers can expect an awesome week, full of lots of fun and entertainment. Everything from our 4H livestock exhibits to Howie the Hypnotist, Charlie Checkers the inventor and the Aquarium of Niagara. We've got everything from camel rides, pony rides, kangaroo encounters and more," says Justin Rogers, Fair Director and Executive Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Niagara County.
An integral part of the Niagara County Fair are the 4H exhibits. 4H members have worked all-year to ensemble their entries in animal science, plant science, nutritional science and mechanical science, to name a few.
The fair is bringing back all your favorite fair foods like fried dough, blooming onions and BBQ from Parker's Pit as well as a couple new unique options, such as bubble tea, coffee trucks and a seafood trailer that is serving up lobster poutine. In addition, the 4H Milk Bar has received some new renovations to their stand, serving up milkshakes, hotdogs and hamburgers.
A staple of the Niagara County Fair is the 4H Livestock Auction, which happens Friday night at 6 p.m.
"I'm very excited about Friday night, which is our 4H Livestock Auction. All year long we watch our 4H youth get ready for this big event. They work with their animals to get them show ready. To actually see them out there and have their animals on display is really rewarding for many of our 4H staff and many of us who work at CCE because we get to see these kids, who we've been working with all year, have all their hard work come to fruition," says Rogers.
Click here for the full schedule of events.
Rogers says that it's great to have more time to plan the events this year as opposed to last, which caused fair planners to have a shortened timeframe due to the pandemic, "It's a several month long process that involves a lot of support from our community of volunteers, our CCE staff, and many of our vendors and fair entertainers that are here today. So there's a lot of people power that goes into making an event like this happen and we're we're very glad that it's here."
Tickets Wednesday through Saturday are $8 a person with kids 6 and under getting in for free. Sunday is a special at $5 a person or $15 per carload. Wednesday through Saturday the fair operates from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the fair concluding Sunday at 6 p.m. Weekend passes are also available for $25. You can buy tickets at the gate on the fairgrounds, 4487 Lake Avenue in Lockport or online here.
See the player below for to hear more from Fair Director Justin Rogers: