Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Despite huge strides toward normalcy as the COVID pandemic eases, guidelines for some big events still remind us of how different some things remain.
As two big summer events return this summer after last year's pandemic, the ticketing options are something to take note of.
If you normally walk up to the ticket booth at the Erie County Fair and get your tickets that way, you'll be out of luck this year. "There will not be ticket sellers at the gate. Everybody who comes to the fair needs to pre-purchase their tickets for the day they're coming," says CEO Jessica Underberg. Tickets go on sale July 1st at www.ecfair.org. Underberg notes if you pre-order Grandstand event tickets, you'll get your fair tickets with them.
Underberg says you won't have to show proof of vaccination, but "there will be a questionnaire that says when you show up at the fair that if you don't feel well, please don't come that day," says Underberg. If you feel not so well the day you plan to go, you can save the ticket for another day or give it to someone else.
As for the Grandstand, "capacity is at 33 percent, so that's a pretty limited number of tickets. Hopefully we'll be able to open up more by July 1st, and if not by the time we open the gates on August 11th," explains Underberg.
Will things return to pre-COVID next year? "I don't know," says Underberg. "I think there will be a lot of things we'll take a look at after this year's event and say that worked, or that didn't and put it back the way it used to be."
Admission is $13.50 this year, normally $12. But Underberg says this year's admission will include parking, normally $5.
Friday, tickets go on sale for this year's Taste of Buffalo. Normally, admission is free and you just have to buy food tickets, but with some COVID restrictions still in place, admission will have to be bought online in advance. Admission tickets will cost $20 and will include food and beverage tickets. "With the Tops Session, buying the tickets at Tops, you will get admission and $15 in food and beverage tickets. For the other three sessions, you will get $10 in tickets," says First Vice Chair Luke Baecker.
Baecker says based on updated guidance, guests who are fully vaccinated will not need to wear a face mask at the festival. Guests who are not vaccinated are asked to wear a mask except while they are eating or drinking. Proof of vaccination and a negative PCR test are no longer required, although guests must complete an online health questionnaire within 24 hours of arrival.
Tickets are limited to 5,000 per session. The Taste of Buffalo runs July 10th and 11th.
