The New York State Fair feels empty; What can vendors do about it?

The New York State Fair is a 13-day celebration of food, exhibits, and entertainment. The celebration take place from August 23 through September 4, 2023 while featuring scheduled performances from Salt-N-Pepa, REO Speedwagon, Tyler Hubbard, Theory of a Deadman, Matt Stell, and so much more. 

Despite the exciting headliners, the fair hasn’t met expectations for both organizers and vendors. Despite having completed renovations that created a whole new food vendor area called Broadway, the fair would only continue to lose vendors and crowds. 

According to syracuse.com, the fair typically had just under 400 total vendors, of which there would be 200 food and drink stands. The 2023 fair would see a rapid decline from these averages with 286 total vendors, of which there are 114 food and drink vendors. 

The culprit? Officials point towards the Covid pandemic. As soon as the 2020 fair was canceled due to Covid, the fairs had since featured fewer vendors and lower attendance, even after setting daily attendance records from 2017 through 2019.