It was a rough day for visitors and workers at the New York State Fair Wednesday. Heavy rain forced the Fair to shut down Wednesday morning before reopening in the early afternoon. Then, the threat of more severe weather caused Fair officials to close the Fair at 6 p.m.
Around 10:30 a.m., the Fair texted all fairgoers to urge them to stay away from the area of the Exposition Center and the goat/llama/swine barns on the western end of the grounds due to flooding.
An hour later, around 11:30, another text urged fairgoers to shelter indoors. At noon, the Fair texted: "The Fair is temporarily closed due to flooding until waters recede, and the 1pm concert is postponed." Any arriving vehicles were being sent to the Orange Lot to wait.
Elisa Morales, superintendent of the Latino Village, told WRVO that floodwaters were up to the knees of people in the western end of the grounds and it was even ankle-deep in her village, which sits on an elevated parcel of land.
Ariana Ram, a vendor at the Fair, said conditions were like night and day.
"We were in the midst of thunder, lightning. Scary. It was absolutely terrifying," she said.
The Fair reopened just after 12:30 p.m., but the Grey Lot on the western end of the grounds remained closed due to flooding and the west end of the grounds, including Restaurant Row, was being cleared of water.
Later in the afternoon, Fair officials decided to close down early due to the threat of more severe weather. A concert by Tori Kelly that was supposed to start at 8 p.m. was moved up to 5 p.m. and officials closed the Fair at 6 p.m.
The Fair is expected to resume normal operations Thursday.