Again, looks like the fair'll be all it's banged up to be

SCREAMING YELLOW HONKERS - Crash, bang, boom ... then another crash. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - They’re already gathering: rusted, banged-up school buses inside the city’s fair grounds, a stone’s throw from Lafayette Street, awaiting their time under the grandstand lights later this month.

And pretty soon thousands of folks will be gathering here as well, for the 138th running of the historic, colossal Rochester Fair.

The fair runs this year from Sept. 13-22, and the School Bus Demolition Derby is a fan favorite, explains 13-year Rochester Fair Manager Mark Perry.

“You gotta play to your audience,” says Perry. “And folks around here love this stuff.”

In the bus demolition derby, a half-dozen bus drivers try to pound each other’s vehicles into oblivion to be the last bus moving. It can take a lot longer than a car demolition derby.

“They take forever, they’re going slow, but they hit hard,” Perry said. “It’s surprising how much punishment they can take.”

The School Bus Demolition Derby, back for its second year, is a fan favorite, but an innovative “free admission” policy for morning hours is sure to also please older fairgoers who don’t care about the rides and Midway as much as they do the livestock and craft exhibits.

For the first time ever, from Monday, Sept. 16, to Friday, Sept. 20, folks can stroll the fairgrounds from 9-1 for free, Perry said, adding that food and other vendors will be open during this time.

Perry is all about the “big tent” philosophy, as in making as many people happy with the fair and its pricing policy as he can.

That’s why for the fourth year the fair will continue with its inclusive price of just $14 (children under three feet tall are free), which includes all mechanical rides and entertainment, including Circus Hollywood.

The only extra-cost events include grandstand venues for the demolition derbys.

Besides having Circus Hollywood back for another run, a new attraction will be Chainsaw Chix, female wood sculptors who will create one-of-a-king wood sculpture in less than an hour then sell them afterward.

Perry is unabashedly proud of the fair’s lineup this year.

“We have more rides in the air, the biggest attractions, Circus Hollywood. We’re gonna try to give these kids a whale of a time.”