The New York State Fair returns this week, bringing with it all the joy, music, food and crowds that transform Geddes into a fun, chaotic mess every summer. We love this mess. Each year, our reporters swarm the fairgrounds and keep you informed with all the exciting changes, concerts and culinary news at Syracuse.com/statefair.

But things are always changing at the fair. Today we tip our cap to seven fair favorites of yesteryear that we miss dearly.

1. Free the butter sculptors!

Remember the days when the butter sculpture was less of a dairy commercial and more of an artist’s creative masterpiece? The husband-wife duo Jim Victor and Marie Pelton have been the official State Fair sculptors for the last 20 years and let’s be clear: They are wonderfully gifted at their butter medium. But their sculpting hands are tied when deciding what to make. Every year brings some tired variation on a cow or strong kids powered by milk. The butter sculpture is wonderfully bizarre, as it is. Can we embrace the weirdness?

In 1988, Raymond Mackintosh sculpted a butter scene from “The Wizard of Oz.” In 1986, William Clements sculpted a butter baseball star Darryl Strawberry. There was a butter Tom Sawyer. A butter Little Miss Muffet! Butter disco dancers! Imagine what Victor and Pelton could do if the American Dairy Association North East didn’t push their dairy agenda on the sculpture year after year. Imagine a butter Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen! A butter Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge! A butter Andrew Cuomo, unrefrigerated, so we can watch his political legacy melt before our eyes!

2. Troy Waffner, fair director of the people

Troy Waffner was a great New York State Fair director. He fostered strong relationships with vendors and fairgoers alike. On his watch, the fair underwent $50 million in changes and improvements. The outdated grandstand and racetrack were demolished. Better sidewalks and drainage were installed. The midway was expanded. Chevy Court got a face lift. A new RV park was built, then a chairlift, then a second musical stage. And throughout the 13 days of the fair, Waffner was omnipresent. He lived in a trailer on the fairgrounds and handled the Whac-A-Mole issues that come with managing such a massive event. Compared to the reigns of previous directors, Waffner’s fair was a largely drama-free zone.

Waffner’s successor, Sean Hennessey, formerly the state Department of Transportation deputy commissioner, keeps a low profile. Under his leadership, the number of vendors is up slightly, despite the notable departures of the Baldwin Fund and New York Brew Pub & Distillery.

Hennessey has improved the bottom line at the fair, which has depended on big taxpayer subsidies to break even the last few years. Fairgoers may not care about that, but taxpayers will. But it’s a rare thing to see Hennessey in the public eye at all. Waffner was easily accessible to the media and public. He handed out his cell phone number and actually answered it. He steered the fair through the pandemic. He even passed out water bottles to thirsty concertgoers sitting out in the sun. We miss that attention to detail.

3. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Gianelli sausage tents

It’s still sad to walk by the empty grass plot where the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Gianelli Sausage stand anchored the back corner Chevy Court for 21 years. Hundreds of people lined up, drawn by smoky aromas and generous portions. Kids pointed happily at the classic cartoons of a T-Rex and dancing pigs in tutus, while parents juggled trays full of sandwiches, ribs and sides. State politicians jumped at their chance to grab a photo op with the legendary sausage sandwich. (Cut to Rick Lazio, still in shambles over Sausagegate.)

In 2021, Gianelli’s Stephen Davis and Dinosaur’s John Stage both cited the labor shortage and the need to focus on their core businesses as reasons to sit the Fair out. They haven’t returned. Luckily, we can still enjoy Gianelli’s sausage sandwiches at other stands across the fair, along with delicious sausage options from Basilio’s and Santillo’s. We understand it’s hard to find seasonal staff. But ,do we miss that magical corner of meat masters.

4. The Ice Museum, coolest place at the fair

This was one of those wacky, technically insane ideas to pull off, but for four years, the fair crushed it. From 2014-2017, The Ice Museum gave fairgoers a welcome respite from hot summer temperatures. It featured terrific ice sculptures, carved by talented local ice sculptors like Stan Kolonko. For a few bucks, you could cool off and take pictures with an ice dragon and ice triceratops, or sit atop an icy throne. In 2015, the museum expanded to include an Ice Bar, a glacial lounge stocked with frosty beer and hard cider. Due to the new construction of the Expo Center, sculptors said there is no longer a viable spot for the Ice Museum freezer. What a shame. (They did put an ice rink in the Expo Center one year — kudos for that). In winter 2020, the fair created an Ice Drive-thru for bored, Covid-isolated families. But the cool original concept remains frozen in our memories.

5. Baker’s Chicken flew the coop

Heartbreak takes many forms and sometimes, it’s a drumstick-shaped void. After 70+ years as a food vendor at the New York State Fair, the iconic Baker’s Chicken Coop called it quits in 2021. In its heyday, the stand served about 3,000 half-chickens on its busiest days, served often with a generous portion of salt potatoes. Their sauce — a mix of cider vinegar, egg and seasonings devised by Cornell professor Robert Baker — is a staple at backyard barbecues across Central New York. Certainly, Tully’s tenders are a great option, and beloved in their own right. Bosco’s at the Fair will once again offer a Baker’s Chicken Sandwich at its stand, which occupies space next to what had been Baker’s coop. Bosco’s will also sell jars of the famed Baker’s marinade. But nothing beat walking down Restaurant Row toward the glorious scent of roasting chicken in a codes-be-damned A-frame building. RIP.

6. Bring back cash at the gate

Once again, fairgoers will not be able to pay cash for admission to the fair. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen annoyed crowds form, because the attendants won’t take cash and fairgoers can’t access Wi-Fi to buy tickets online on their phones. Cell service can be dicey at the gates, and the site for buying tickets has experienced glitches in past years. Parking attendants won’t take cash, either. Economically disadvantaged populations often rely on cash, and the new cashless rules create barriers and lines. If we must pay more for parking and entry, can we at least have some choice in our payment? Speaking of which …

7. Super-cheap parking and admission

In case you missed it, parking prices will double from $5 to $10 per vehicle this summer as part of a budget framework OK’d by Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers. Hochul’s office said lawmakers also agreed to raise ticket prices back to the pre-pandemic cost of $6 per adult, up from the $3 price in effect since 2020. The fair also increased fees by 1.5% to rent space for concessions and non-fair events. In this economy? Sure, other state fairs charge more. (The Texas and Arizona fairs charge $15 per ticket. Minnesota charges $17 per ticket.) In that context, New York’s state fair is a bargain, even at double last year’s price. Kids under age 12 and seniors over age 65 can get in for free every day.

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