Carnival & Fair News

Julie LaFave, Director of The Great New York State Fair, may have had the shortest interim period of any fair manager. One of the largest annual outdoor events in the northeast, LaFave was named interim director in January after only a year with the fair. Her previous experience was as Commissioner of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs for the City of Syracuse and she stepped into the interim position in January when the previous director, Sean Hennessey, abruptly left the department for another governmental position.

The 2023 fair was the first and only fair under Hennessey, replacing Troy Waffner, who left the fair in 2022. Waffner was appointed Director in 2014 and is credited for revitalizing the fair, a trajectory that included bringing in a new midway provider and overseeing a massive $121 million infrastructure improvement, one of the largest in the industry. A perennial top 20-Fair, the Great New York State Fair has been on a growth trajectory both pre-pandemic and post lockdown, with last year's attendance reaching 932,699, the 18th highest attended fair, according to the Top 50 Fairs as compiled by Carnival Warehouse.  In 2024, the New York State Fair ranked 19th on the Top 50 Fairs with over 868,745 visitors.



After a nationwide search that a fair's press release claimed attracted “ diverse pool of highly qualified candidates,” stakeholders decided to promote from within. Instead of waiting until her freshmen fair was completed before promoting her from the interim classification, New York Governor Kathy Hochul gave her the ultimate vote of confidence in May.

“Julie's experience as Operations Director and Interim Director, coupled with her creativity and knowledge, are incredible assets to the long-term growth and vitality of The Great New York State Fair,” Governor Hochul said. “I am proud to officially welcome her as the Director of one of our most beloved traditions, and look forward to working with her as we continue to invest in and grow this extraordinary showcase of New York's farmers, products, culture, and diversity.”

Hit The Ground Running

Richard A. Ball, New York State Agriculture Commissioner, acknowledged the pressure the new captain of the annual celebration of everything Empire State faced in a position that besides the annual fair and other events, includes managing day-to-day operations of the New York State Fairgrounds, including the oversight of contracts, budgets, more than 50 buildings spread across 375 acres, and more than 100 full and part-time staff.

“Julie hit the ground running since joining the Fair and she has been a strong leader, working with our truly talented State Fair team, to develop many new and exciting initiatives and to ensure we remain focused on agriculture first and foremost. Julie's experience, passion and innovative thinking have elevated this year's Fair already, and now, with her leading as Director, I have no doubt that this year's Fair will truly be one to remember.”

Prior to joining The Fair, LaFave was Commissioner of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs for the City of Syracuse and organizer of the Taste of Syracuse, which routinely draws more than 100,000 visitors. “I came to the fair May 1st of 2023 as Director of Operations and 12 months later I was named Director,” said LaFave.

That was less than three months before opening day. Was it as nerve-wracking as it sounds? Actually, the institutional structure long in place made the transition smooth. “I was fortunate that I didn't come in mid-fair. I got to see the full range of the event as director of operations. I didn't come into the fair with a lot of surprises. I don' t know if my decisions could've been made without my team of experts. The board and the staff have been with the fair for many years, there's 50 plus years of great historic knowledge about the fair that I relied on.”

Also, LaFave pulled double duty having retained some Director of Operations responsibilities as that position remained unfilled.

Two rainy days – including a downpour devastated Opening Day – squelched attendance. The event reached an admirable 868,745. While a drop of approximately 64,000 from 2023, “the fair had mostly comfortable days,” she said. “The two rainy days impacted vendors and the midway. But as I walked through the fair, I saw people of all ages and lots of families and all generations. We had a very successful fair.”

Reports of Gunfire

LaFave also handled a nightmare scenario that threatened to seriously disrupt the fair.

Two 911 calls from opposite ends of the fairgrounds reported gunfire. State Troopers swarmed the event, and reports of a “wall” of people ran towards the exits. The first report came from an area between the midway and the Suburban Park concert stage where Rick Ross was entertaining an audience of an estimated 39,000; the second report came from the opposite side of the fairgrounds at The Eatery. The police soon determined that no shooting had taken place and fair officials released a statement within 30 minutes stating such, but the fair closed early, truncating one of the most profitable nights of the run.

“I'm really proud of the law enforcement and various agencies and my staff on how we handled the situation,” she said. “After the situation was handled we reassured fairgoers that the fair is safe. We take these threats extremely seriously.”

More than a week after the fair closed, state police officially concluded no shots were fired, But the night of the incident, in addition to handling the messaging quickly and succinctly, the new director implemented a gradual closing of the fair that maintained crowd control. “It was a perfect example of our security plan working. We slowly shut down the fair. We cleared the grounds with a phased approach. There were 70,000 people on the grounds and we had an orderly and safe evacuation. It was a testament to the professionalism or our team how we systematically closed down the fairgrounds. It highlighted our partnership with law enforcement. 
Emergency training is a constant in our operations, we had run many table top exercises with law enforcement.”

When the investigation's closure made local headlines, LaFave was able to use the opportunity to inform the public about the security and safety policies the fair has implemented prior to the 2024 fair. “The State Fair has made significant investments in upgrading safety and security infrastructure on the grounds, including installing advanced, highly sensitive magnetometers and metal detection devices at all public points of entry; high resolution cameras throughout the Fairgrounds; drone technology; and public address capabilities. The Fair maintains a robust Emergency Action Plan and hosts a Joint Operations Center, which operates continuously during the Fair.”

Wade Shows Up

The false gunfire report saga disrupted the day, but the overall atmosphere was large, upbeat and exuberant crowds ready to get their fair-on! “We had great end of summer enthusiasm. People wait all summer long for the fair. They were spending. Revenue was up, but we are still waiting for our final report, Wade Shows communicated to us revenue was up. The majority of the 13 days we saw an increase in spending.”

LaFave also took deliberate action to hold down prices to pre-pandemic levels. “We tried our best to keep the fair affordable. We have free entertainment and exhibits, we know everyday people are facing higher prices and trying to make ends meet on a budget.”

She did notice that discount promotions were extremely popular, an indication that the current inflation era has made consumers more price conscious. “We had an increase in pre-sales and other promotions. Wade Shows ran their Flash Sale, which was a steep discount. People may have been more sales conscious this year.”

Great Memories Made Here

The fair's marketing tagline – “Great Memories Made Here” – invoked the timeless nostalgia at the heart of the event's multi-generational appeal. The advertising budget was on par with 2023, approximately $900,000. But this outreach was supplemented by increased support by one of the largest state tourism agencies in the U.S., I Love New York. “This year, we took our partnership to a new level with the I Love NY agency, who put the fair through its social media platforms and other forms of media.”

This year the agency sent camera crews for future promotions of the fair as a must-see summer destination. “We were the site for a commercial they filmed on that second Friday. They filmed a family at the Wade Shows midway.”

The 2024 fair partnered with Central New York Rising, a regional economic development plan. “The fair has had a huge economic impact on the region, and we are a component in the strategy to grow the local economy by promoting agriculture and tourism. Our 2024 marketing was so diverse, we try to hit every medium, including local and regional print and websites. We targeted some dollars to focus on the western New York region, we definitely are trying to activate the customer who is a short-drive away, playing up the tourism and summer-destination angle.”

In addition to deepening the relationship with governmental agencies, the fair collaborated with about a dozen social media influencers. “”We reached out to influencers. The most important thing is to vet them, make sure they are legit and meet certain benchmarks, the most important being number of followers. But we fully credentialed them, we aligned with many different foodie influencers. We were heavy on the food side. We are having internal conversations about how to expand our influencers.”

K-Pop Hot Dogs

Outreach to foodie influencers proved synergistic, with the fair expanding its food selection with more than 200 food stands. “We were higher this year,” said LaFave. “It's not as easy to determine exactly how many stands since some vendors have more than one. We filled in a lot of blank spaces on the grounds that were vacant or under-used with vendors.”

The New York State Fair has gained a reputation breaking down fair cuisine boundaries. While many fairs emphasize new twists on things deep fried and/or on a stick, the New York State Fair has an international flair. The most popular new concessionaires were “K-Pop (Korean) Hot dogs and new Haitian foods. We had so many options this year, it is very diverse.”

The fair as foodie destination was also enhanced by the four cultural villages – Pan-African, Iroquois Indian, Latino, and Asian – each featuring music, entertainment, interactive exhibits and of course, food. “We started these villages in 2017 and they've grown each year. Instead of only being opened for four days, we kept the villages opened for five days.”

The Horticulture Building, one of the landmark structures renovated by the capital improvement campaign, showcased more food options in the Taste NY Marketplace, Potato Booth, Produce and Flower Exhibits and the New York Maple Center. “We opened up space so we featured more booths. We highlighted local agriculture. We are part of the agriculture department, and we haven't in the past focused on new forms of agriculture, and artisanal foods. We had more new foods there than previous years.”

Reaching out to under-served communities didn't end with its ambitions and welcoming multicultural programming. The fair introduced its first Sensory Room, a dedicated space for fairgoers who need a quiet space. Located inside the Wegmans Art and Home Center, the sensory room was available 10:00 a.m.-5 p.m. during the fair's 13-day run. The room was created with local non-profit organizations that specialize in providing a variety of emotional, behavioral, and developmental limitations programming and provided fairgoers with a peaceful environment that included gentle music, soft lighting, projectors, weighted lap pads, stuffed animals and bean bag chairs.

“We're always striving to make The Fair more inclusive and accessible for everyone,” said LaFave. “Our goal continues to be able to provide fun, safe, and enjoyable entertainment for everyone. As part of our commitment to making The Fair more accessible, we've worked with KultureCity and are proud to have been certified as a Sensory Friendly Fair. We're thrilled to offer a dedicated space and sensory friendly hours.”

LaFave also credited her sister fair, The Erie County Fair, as being both an inspiration and an example to follow. “It was our first year, Jessica Underberg has really been at the forefront and we made that connection and talked constantly and visited their fair. Being the first Sensory Friendly New York State Fair is probably what I am most proud of as my first year as manager.”