Syracuse,
NY – August 2016 / Newsmaker Alert / The Great New York State
Fair’s popular Butterfly Exhibit will for the very first time feature butterflies
from around the world at the 2016 Fair, Acting Director Troy Waffner announced
Wednesday (August 3). The exhibit’s owner, SkyRiver Butterflies, worked
for several years to secure federal government permission to show foreign
butterflies in a traveling exhibit. The Great
New York State Fair will mark the first time that has happened.
The exhibit, located in
the Horticulture Building, draws thousands of fairgoers who step into a
controlled area amidst up to 1,000 live butterflies. The beautiful creatures
fly around the enclosure and land gently on people, creating some of the
most unique photo opportunities available at the Fair.
Until now, the exhibit has
featured about a dozen domestic butterflies, such as the yellow-and-black
Tiger Swallowtail. This year, those breeds will be joined by as many as
20 exotic breeds, such as Costa Rica’s electric blue Blue Morpho, the wide-winged
Paper Kite of Asia, the white-spotted Postman of Africa, and the Scarlet
Mormon of the Philippines, a black butterfly with dramatic bright red markings.
SkyRiver Butterflies is
building an all-new enclosure for the exhibit and extra precautions will
be taken to ensure that butterflies do not escape the exhibit, in line
with the federal government requirements to prevent the spread of foreign,
invasive species.
Admission to the exhibit
will be $2.
“We are very excited about
the wonderful addition to a very popular exhibit. I know fairgoers are
going to love this. The addition of exotic species is one more thing that
you can only find at the Great New York State Fair and I urge everyone
to take advantage of the opportunity to see these beautiful creatures that
help pollinate our food and flowers,” said Waffner.
“It used to be you could
wander into entire fields full of butterflies. Now, it can be hard just
to find one. This might be the only opportunity kids have today to see
butterflies, and to understand why they’re important and why it’s worthwhile
to save the places they live,” said John Dailey of SkyRiver Butterflies.
At the end of the exhibit,
the butterflies will be provided to a butterfly conservatory.
About the Great New York
State Fair
The New
York State Fair, operated by the New
York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, runs from August
25 to September 5, 2016. The Fair’s mission, reflected in its theme, “Summer’s
Best In Show!,” is to showcase the best of New York agriculture while providing
top-quality entertainment.
The 375-acre New York State
Fairgrounds is undergoing the most significant transformation since it
first opened its gates in 1890. The $50 million plan, announced by Governor
Andrew M. Cuomo, revitalizes the grounds in many ways, improving the quality
of the fairgoer’s experience and providing greater economic benefits for
the region. Improvements include the dramatic new Main Gate- the arches
of which recall the carriage gate that greeted fairgoers in 1900, a larger,
15-acre Wade Shows Midway that will hold more rides than ever, and the
brand new 315-site Empire RV Park with underground water, sewer and electrical
service. The plan will better position the New York State Fairgrounds as
a premier year-round, multi-use facility that can attract more events and
visitors from across the nation. More information on the revitalization
is available here and renderings can be viewed
here.
In addition to the annual
New York State Fair, the Fairgrounds host dozens of agricultural events
throughout the year, including some of the Northeast’s most prestigious
horse and livestock shows.
A year-round schedule
of events is available on the Fair’s
website. Find The Great New York State Fair on Facebook,
follow @NYSFair on Twitter, and
enjoy photos from the Fair at Flickr.com/photos/nysfair.
Also, New Yorkers are invited to send their ideas for the Great New York
State Fair at statefairideas@agriculture.ny.gov.
Media Contacts:
Jola
Szubielski
Public Information Officer
NYS Department of Agriculture
& Markets
518-457-0752
Dave
Bullard
Public Relations
New York State Fair
315-487-7711 x 1377 |
