Madison Hillmire: Fourth of July festivities kick off today at the New York State Fairgrounds. The first celebrations in two years, Maya Lockett is at the event. Maya, what’s going on?
Maya Lockett: Hello, Central New York I’m so excited to announce that there’s a three day celebration going on here at the New York State Fairgrounds. So this is your chance to get out of the house and celebrate the Fourth of July, and America being independent from COVID-19.
Maya Lockett: The three day celebration called fourth affair will take over the orange lot. You’re the New York State Fairgrounds starting today.
Allen LaVenture:it has a little more significance this year than it has in the past that we’re finally free to get out and have a good time.
Maya Lockett: The three day celebration will feature food, drinks,rides fireworks, in live music for families to enjoy
seeing families having a great time and the smiles on kids faces.
Allen LaVenture: You know, that’s another one of those main reasons why we do it. And to finally be able to bring out the you know, the carousel and the slides and the rides and get kids on the ride. It means a lot.
Maya Lockett: This fair is especially important to parents who are finally able to safely show their kids a good time after being locked out for over a year.
Dad: But she’s three years old, honestly, like most of her life that she can remember is spent in lockdown. So now I’m looking for really any, you know, situation where you can go out, get some stimulation, get some new experiences. So this is great.
Maya Lockett :This is harpers first time at the fair and she already has a favorite ride. Get round this slide.
So many families tell me that they are so excited to be out here safely celebrating with other people and their children as well. But to top it off tomorrow, there’ll be a spectacular firework show here at the New York City fairgrounds at 9:30pm. I’m Maya Lockett reporting live for NCC news.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The “Fourth A’Fair” kicked off today and families are excited to safely celebrate America being free of COVID-19. The three-day celebration has different events leading up to the Fourth of July. The celebration will feature food, drinks, fireworks on Friday and live music on Saturday.
Carnival promoter Allen LaVenture says that this event will be bigger than previous ones this year. Many of the events over the last few months were limited due to CDC regulations, but families will finally be able to experience the true meaning of carnival during this three-day event.
“I am so happy that we can final bring out rides, more food vendors and a bigger variety of fun things to do,” said LaVenture.
The biggest highlight of the celebration thus far for some families was being able to safely spend time with their kids and enjoy the company of strangers for the first time in over a year. And for some kids this was their first time ever being at a fair.
Harper Callabuzo is a 3-year-old who has spent most of her life in lockdown due to COVID-19. Her dad was very excited to see her finally experience the fun things about life. Callabuzo said her favorite ride so far was the slide and if she had to explain the carnival in one word it would be “fun.”
But the real excitement kicks off tomorrow when fireworks will be added to the to-do list. The show starts around 9:30 pm for families to enjoy a light show at the Fairgrounds.
