Festivals

thurs. 23-Sept. 3
New York State Fair - Gates to
the New York State Fair open at 8 a.m.
Thursday, Aug. 23 through Sept. 3 at
the Empire Expo Center, 581 State Fair
Boulevard, Syracuse. Performers include:
Lynyrd Skynyrd; Poison and Ratt; The
Cheetah Girls; Carrie Underwood; The
Counting Crows and Hootie & the
Blowfish; Projekt Revolution Tour;
Hilary Duff; Hinder, Papa Roach and
Buckcherry; Kenny Chesney; Brad
Paisley; and American Idol Live 2007.
Visit www.nysfair.org for performance
times and days.
fri. 24-sun. 26
Buffalo Irish Festival - Featuring
Irish food, crafts and cultural
exhibitions, 5-11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 24,
noon-11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25 and
noon-9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26 at the
Erie County Fairgrounds Grove, 5600
McKinley Parkway, Hamburg; $.
Featured acts include Scythian,
Greenwich Meantime, Seamus Kennedy,
Paddy Keenan, Barley Juice, Glengarry
Bhoys and The Dublin City Ramblers.
743-9348, www.shannonpub.com
Tomato Festival - The fifth annual
festival featuring tomato eating contest,
tomato sauce contest, food, beer,
motorcycle show and a beauty pageant
among other events, runs from 9 a.m.-9
p.m. Friday, Aug. 24, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 25, and 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 26 at Evangola State Park,
Old Lakeshore Road, Angola; $
(admission after 5 p.m. is free).
549-1802, www.evangolastatepark.com
sat. 25
Buffalo Brew Fest - More than
100 samples of microbrews from around
the world, 1-6 p.m., music by The
Ladies First Quintet, the Central
Terminal, 495 Paderewski Drive, off
Broadway, Buffalo; $. 954-2225,
www.buffalocentr alter minal.org
sat. 25-sun. 26
ToyFest - Parade along Main Street,
antique toy show, car show, kidspace in
the park, rides and entertainment are
just some of the things happening at this
annual event in East Aurora on Saturday
and Sunday, Aug. 25 and 26; free.
687-5151, www.toytownusa.com
Elmwood Festival of the Arts -
Artist market and hands-on activities for
kids are just some of the planned events
at the eighth annual Elmwood Festival
running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 25, and 11 a.m. to 5
p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26 on Elmwood
Avenue between West Ferry and
Lafayette Avenue, Buffalo; free.
830-2484, www.elmwoodartfest.org