Sideshows and Sidelights

With a cherry on top: Enjoy a dish of Americana with the latest food fad at the Fair, the roast beef sundae.

Syrian bears will play basketball and ride on bicycles behind the Horticulture building in the Bear Mountain Show.

There will be jousting and broadsword dueling as part of the Paragon Jousting and Adventure Theater on Labor Day in the Coliseum.

Pirates of The Sky features stunts on a high wire 50 feet above the ground behind the Horticulture Building.  

Zany science magician Freddy Fusion brings learning to life five times daily in the Youth Activity Center.

Also in the Youth Activity Center, kids can enjoy a live, updated version of Operation, featuring Cavity Sam and his caretaker, Dr. Funnybone. Cavity Sam returns to the operating table with 13 embarrassing and unusual anatomy parts or ailments with humor that kids of all ages can appreciate. It will be in Syracuse on Wednesday, Aug. 27, to Monday, Sept. 1.

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The Twin Magicians will dazzle fairgoers four times daily in various locations around the grounds.

The Harlem Wizards perform basketball magic and hoop stunts outside the Coliseum; times and days vary.

Music provided by the Cortland Country Music Park will take stage at the Beef Barn Jamboree on Friday, Aug. 22, Tuesday, Aug. 26, and Friday, Aug. 29, at 7:30 p.m. 

Aspiring rock stars will light up the newly renovated Talent Showcase stage with the Emerging Artists Spotlight on Friday, Aug. 22, and Monday, Aug. 25, to Sunday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. 

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the crew from the PBS Emmy Award-winning series This Old House will participate in a Chevy Court event and then a VIP party, the proceeds from which will support WCNY-Channel 24. The party takes place at the Empire Room, inside the Art and Home Center, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $35 for WCNY members and $52 for non-members, which includes a one-year membership with the public television station. All tickets to the event include admission to the fair; not a bad deal.

“Beef: It’s what for...dessert.” At least it looks like dessert at Shake It Up in the Dairy Products Building where you can find the New York Beef Industry Council’s roast beef sundae. Slices of tender roast beef on a bed of mashed potatoes are doused in gravy, dressed with shreds of cheddar and topped with a cherry tomato. It will cost $5.

—Kevin Corbett