I Love Buffalo: Erie County Fair

Hey everybody, it’s Dave and I’m back with another I Love Buffalo Post. I’m only doing one event today because it’s such a huge part of Buffalo! Buffalo Eats has been rapidly growing lately with all the Buffalo foodies like Bridget Blythe and Joanna Pasceri (you guys should let us on your show) and I’ve been very inactive. I’ll try and make up for it here. So here I go…

The Erie County Fair. It’s one of the most well-known and most popular events in the area during the summer. It brings us back to the simple times (if you can get past the $3 dollar games and overpriced drinks.) It’s one of the few places where you can eat, drink, play games, go on rides, shop, and generally have a great day. This beloved event has sadly come to a close thus marking the end of summer and the sad reality of going back to school/cold weather. However, it’s a Buffalo staple and fantastic way to say our goodbyes to summer.

This is only my personal experience so it will differ from many other people who frequented the fair as well. There are so many things to do I can’t possibly get through them all. I went on a beautiful Monday evening with my family and the weather was phenomenal. The fair takes place in Hamburg, which may be a hassle for all you north-towners. However, for me it’s right by my house and very accessible. There was plenty of parking and we ended up in someone’s lawn right across from the fair. All the people who paid to park in that lot are probably helping to send this families children off to college; they must make a fortune over these twelve days.

We walked in and since we’re pretty much pros of the fair and since it hasn’t changed in a long time, we knew where we were going. We walked past the famous pig races (which seem a bit cruel) and right to the long alleyway of food. There were so many places to choose from. I chose a Chicken Souvlaki Pita Wrap with cucumber sauce that was extremely messy but extremely satisfying. The cucumber sauce was the perfect topping to this savory meal. My mom got one of the famous London Broil which she enjoyed very much. My brothers both got corn dogs and french fries which is pretty typical fair food. The drinks are always overpriced, but I found a way to beat the system. The place where you fill your drink up was hidden from the workers so I refilled my cup and they didn’t even notice. I think it was 2 dollars for a refill, which is ridiculous. Am I going to get arrested for saying this?

There is a lot to do at the fair so you’ll never be bored. We stopped and looked at trinkets. We scourged different stands to find a suitable Beatles t-shirt for my brother. We found one, but I realized something, there a lot of dumb shirts that are sold at the fair. A lot of them aren’t even funny and most are tacky. I wonder if anybody actually buys them. Well, after seeing some of the…..different people who were at the fair I realized that they’re probably best-sellers. Also, what’s up with all the hot tub stands. “Oh I’m at the fair, I think I’ll buy a hot tub.” There were a lot of sunglasses and other trinkets and it’s always fun to browse around even though you usually end up leaving disappointed.

source: wikipedia

The next part of the fair, games. They’re always a crowd pleaser. We did a couple rounds of that game where you squirt the water gun into the bulls-eye. We sucked. It would usually be the five of us along with one more person and that one person would always win. I did however have a little luck when it came to I-got-it. I was beast. For those who don’t know, you have to throw balls into a plastic box with little holes to get five in a row. I won after ball 7. However, he called ball 8 while I was saying “I got it!!!’ because my ball to took a long time to settle (wow, this sentence sounds so wrong.) Anyway, I won a prize after being chided on by the loud announcer. I went to look at the rack of prizes and believe me, there was nothing great. I felt rushed. The guy who hands out the prizes kept following me around so I felt pressured and ended up regrettably picking a backwards clock (which is still sitting in a bag in my room btw.)

Rides. I don’t do them because they’re not my thing. Sorry. I realize they’re a big part of the fair.

We got some delicious treats like a snow-cone, which my brother said he prematurely got because he didn’t realize there was other great stuff. We passed by a dessert stand with delectable treats and my mom got a cannoli. I got some vanilla frozen custard because I’m boring, but it was a safe yet delicious choice. We also got sugar waffles. There are so many great treats at the fair. We stopped in the candy tent and picked out all the candy that we could possibly want. It was a good experience.

source: wikipedia

I paid a dollar to see the world’s smallest horse. It was just a baby horse, don’t waste your money. A few years back I saw the world’s smallest woman. It was just a little person who you awkwardly stared at as she showed you pictures of her family. I felt pretty awful that I agreed to pay money to see her. All the “freak shows” are not worth it at the fair. They are usually just rip offs. The animals are a huge part of the fair and even though I’m 17 years old, I enjoyed looking at them still. They were selling chickens for 10 dollars! What a steal! It was fun seeing the cows and chickens and horses as well.

The fair is classic. It never really changes. You either love it or hate it. There’s no in-between. Once you go a lot, you start remembering where certain places are and what’s a scam and what’s not. I think it’s important that while the fair is great for fun, it’s essentially a money grabbing machine, so make sure you watch out what you pay for.