Looking Back At My Annual Pilgrimage To The NYS Fair

Let's rewind to late summer as I have an all-important message for people in The Commonwealth: Forget about The Big E. When it comes to expositions, I always look forward to the final week of August as my travels take me out west to "The Salt City" of Syracuse, New York for an annual pilgrimage to "The Grand Daddy Of Them All". I am referring to The GREAT New York State Fair.

My esteemed colleague and "little bro" Ryan Pause tagged along for the 2nd year in a row. It was a fun three days catching up with dear friends in the media and checking out terrific exhibits and a trio of fantastic concerts at Chevy Court. Let's bring you along as this journey was joyous with a capital J:

First up: Little Bro took me for an "elevated" ride! He's calm and I'm in a terrified state, LOL!

The Butter Sculpture is a must-see at The Dairy Building after having an ice cream and chocolate milk by the gallon.

(Sand Sculpture photo courtesy of Ryan Pause)

In the Center of Progress building, the sand sculpture always unique in nature. Plus there are demonstrations and exhibits galore In the Center of Progress building, plus there was plenty of air conditioning.

Our daily noontime stop was at The CNY Central set to watch the lunch time broadcast featuring our friends Abby Buttacovoli and Mike Brookins. 

We were fortunate to be there for the final fair appearance by Abby as she is heading to New England to join the news team at WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island. These LIVE appearances in Central New York just won't be the same without her.

But in the long run, Mike will STILL be there to deliver those all-important fair forecasts. Notice we are all with shades on

We also caught up with anchors Matt Mulcahy and Megan Coleman after their 6 pm broadcast.

Matt and I go way back as we also share stories that feature Papa Joe Turrisi. Some of those tales are priceless with a capital P. Joe was like a 2nd father to me in my life. I MISS him each and every day.

We also caught up with weekend anchor-reporter Nicole LaFiandra who was on the field during her time at the fairgrounds. She does a fine job in more ways than one. These days, Nicole is currently the weekend anchor along with pinch-hitting on the noon cast when in studio.

We also attended an enjoyable magic show featuring Steve Trash who incorporated us as part of his act at the "air conditioned' Empire Arts Center. It is highly recommended to see him in-person as he entertains the crowd in a creative and unique way.

The highlight was on Wednesday when we met up with country music legend Crystal Gayle after her matinee performance. We feature her music on our weekend retro shows in north and south counties. A treasured moment at the fairgrounds.

And we have this gentleman to thank for this milestone hook-up. The WOLF's Program Director, Skip Clark who also was responsible for us meeting the legendary Tommy James last year. A steak dinner awaits you my friend!

Who would've known that I was rockin' to Tommy James tunes with my transistor or AM only radio in the late 60's-early 70's and in 2023 we finally met at the Fair. A treasured moment in Syracuse for yours truly!

But wait! We are NOT done yet! There is more reminiscing to experience!

Outside the Exposition Center we watched NewsChannel 9's late afternoon broadcasts. I finally introduced Ryan to my dear friend Christie Casciano as I've known her for half of my life and is SO NEAR & DEAR to me. Christie is the BEST of the BEST as she co-anchored with another dear friend, Rod Wood as his memory remains eternal and everlasting!

Plus, another long-time friend, Jim Teske was spot-on with the latest fair forecasts.

We even posed for a picture with another long-time friend "The Money Guy" Rick Reagan as I participated in a Q and A session with him LIVE while at the Fair. Ryan will get his at-bat this year.

BOTTOM LINE: Hope you enjoyed the sights of the New York State Fair. We will have to wait until August to do it all over again!

(Featured image and CBS 5 banner photos courtesy of Ryan Pause)