The State Fair is back. Pitbull, Lil Jon, Flo Rida, Third Eye Blind, and Sean Paul, all this week.

Hello, Syracuse

Fair kicks off this week. You already know what that means, 12 days of butter sculptures, milk bar, questionable rides, and free concerts. The Great New York State Fair opens Wednesday. Flo Rida, Third Eye Blind, Gym Class Heroes, Sean Paul, Melissa Etheridge, Air Supply, and Brandy Clark. All at the Fair. All free with admission. All this week. If the Fair isn't your thing, do not worry, we still have you. Consider this your annual reminder to avoid I-690 westbound starting Wednesday. Plus Attilio's is taking over Strada Mia's Geddes Street building, Dear Dad opening in the old Arad Evans Inn, and Sharon Owens closing in on the city's first Night Mayor. Let's get into it.

Looking for trivia nights this week? We just published a full guide to every trivia spot in Syracuse.

The Great New York State Fair is back Wednesday

The Fair opens Wednesday and runs 12 days through Labor Day. Chevy Court and Suburban Park concerts are free with gate admission this year, and the lineup covers everything from The Commodores and Third Eye Blind to Melissa Etheridge and Flo Rida. New this year: a rebuilt attraction lineup, new food vendors, and the usual butter sculptures.

Fayetteville's Arad Evans Inn is coming back as a steakhouse called Dear Dad

Less than a year after one of Fayetteville's best-known restaurants closed, the historic Arad Evans building is getting a new chapter. Restaurateurs Mark Bullis and Nathan Fullmer (Bull & Bear Roadhouse, The Daily Diner, Yards Grille at Green Lakes) will open Dear Dad, an upscale steakhouse, in early October. The opening lands in the middle of a Fayetteville dining hot streak, coming just weeks after Apizza Alimentari drew long lines.

Strada Mia is closing after 11 years and Attilio's is moving in

Attilio's is leaving its James Street location and taking over 313 N. Geddes St., where Strada Mia has operated for the last 11 years. Owners Jim and Lori Ranalli are stepping away from the restaurant business, and a group that includes Attilio's owner Lou Santaro is buying the building. The new spot will be called Attilio's.

When will the new restaurant open inside the former Bull & Bear off Route 57?

LocalSYR dug into a reader question about what's happening at the former Bull & Bear Pub building on Route 57. The Q&A walks through the owners, the timeline, and what CNY diners can expect when the doors reopen.

Scholars Champs relocates to Crouse Avenue

Scholars Champs, the vintage SU merch shop, has moved to Crouse Avenue. The new location puts it closer to campus foot traffic and the growing cluster of student-facing businesses on the Crouse corridor.

Anheuser-Busch is pouring $13 million into its Baldwinsville brewery

Anheuser-Busch is investing $13 million into its Baldwinsville brewery to keep up with demand. The Baldwinsville plant is one of AB's largest East Coast facilities and a big local employer. The company says the investment will expand production capacity.

New York drops the union deal on the latest I-81 contract to court federal funding

The state has dropped a union-labor requirement from the latest I-81 construction contract, a move officials say is meant to give the project better odds of securing federal funding under the Trump administration. Union groups pushed back hard, arguing it undercuts local labor.

Syracuse Hancock Airport just raised parking again

SYR already had the highest parking rates of any upstate airport, and now it's raising them again. Syracuse.com's reporting compares the new rates to Buffalo, Rochester, and Albany. If you were flying out this fall, you'll want to look at off-airport lots or a drop-off to save some extra cash.

Sharon Owens is close to hiring Syracuse's first Night Mayor

After months of searching, Syracuse is close to naming its first-ever Night Mayor - a role focused on the city's after-hours economy, live music venues, restaurants, and public safety. Cities like Pittsburgh and Baltimore have used the role to boost nightlife while also tackling noise, safety, and permitting friction.

Syracuse police backed off an ICE stop in Westcott, then got asked for a crash report

Syracuse police were patrolling Westcott Thursday morning when they spotted vehicles with flashing lights and stopped to help, assuming it was a local warrant service. Once officers realized it was an ICE stop, they backed off, per state law that bans local police from cooperating with ICE. Federal immigration agents detained three men in a white Jeep on Westcott Street. As Syracuse officers were about to leave, an ICE agent asked them for a crash report, claiming one of the detained men had driven the Jeep into an ICE vehicle.

Syracuse's Northside just got a $2 million boost

The Northside neighborhood is getting $2 million in new funding aimed at community development, small business support, and neighborhood infrastructure. Details on how the money will be allocated are in the writeup.

What's actually causing Syracuse's housing crisis?

Central Current takes a look at the bottlenecks behind Syracuse's housing shortage, permitting delays, construction labor shortages, financing gaps, and the sheer difficulty of getting new units built at a pace that matches demand. With Micron and other big employers driving population growth, the pressure on the market is only going up.

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Custom-built 2022 ranch in Skaneateles. The main floor has 2 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, plus a finished lower level with 2 more bedrooms and a full bath. The kitchen has custom Wood Mode cabinetry, Dexton stone counters, and Zline luxury appliances with a touchless motion-sensor range hood. A great room with an electric fireplace, a light-flooded morning room, first-floor laundry, and a spa-like primary suite with a soaking tub. Backup Generac generator is included. 10 minutes from Mirbeau, 9 minutes from Sherwood Inn, 15 minutes from Anyela's Vineyards.

Syracuse History on IG just dropped a reel with photos from the NYS Fair in the 1990s, timed perfectly to this week's opening. Something about those crash test dummies live rent-free in my local 90s kid's brain. "We are lucky to have this in our backyard," reads their the caption. The older I get the harder it is to argue with that.

Jeremy Randall has been making studio ceramics since 2005. He grew up in Syracuse, picked up clay his sophomore year of high school, earned a BFA in ceramics from SU in 2000, apprenticed under David Gil at Bennington Potters in Vermont, then got his MFA from University of Florida. He came back to Central New York to teach at SU and Cazenovia College and started working out of his house. In 2013 he opened his first brick-and-mortar studio, which eventually grew into Papavero Clay Studio, now in a much larger location in Skaneateles.

Papavero offers classes, open studio time, wheel throwing sessions, and specialized events. Fall classes are open now.