Once again the New York State Fair has come to Syracuse, New York as a fantastic way to wrap up the summer. The event was full of fried food, cotton candy, amusement rides and musical performances, which included Nick Jonas on Labor Day.

The New York State Fair was first held in Syracuse in 1841 and drew around 15,000 people. At the fair that year, the audience could view different animal exhibits and produce from local farms. Between the years 1842 and 1889, the fair traveled to different locations in New York state such as Albany, New York City and Utica. After finally deciding to permanently hold the fair in Syracuse each year, the fair itself closed from 1942 to 1947 in order for the grounds to act as a military base during World War II.

When it reopened, it held a nine-day event, which attracted around 500,000 people by the 1950s. Sonny and Cher performed in 1972 and years later in 2011, Bruno Mars broke the record number of attendees with 35,000 people at his performance. In 2014, a tradition known as “dollar day” began meaning every Labor Day admission was a dollar, along with food, drink and rides.

Today, the Great New York State Fair covers an area of 375 acres and each year attracts around one million people to the event, according to their website. Despite the heat over Labor Day weekend, the fairgrounds were packed with families and friends out to enjoy the day.

On Labor Day 2015, with the temperature warmer than average, many people came out to enjoy “dollar day” and a special performance by Nick Jonas. The fair included a house filled with bunnies and other small animals, a circus performance, dollar amusement park rides and, of course, all the fried food a person could want.

“I absolutely loved the candy tents. There were different tents filled with all the candy you could possibly eat,” said sophomore Emily Grossi. Other Ithaca College students such as Angela Poffenbaugh and Hannah Morris enjoyed the rides like Crazy Mouse and The Tornado, as well as the food.

“It was so hot all day, but water was only a dollar. It was great,” said Morris.

Some of the main attractions included the Dairy Barn where they had fresh milk for 25 cents, many different flavors of fresh ice cream and a butter sculpture that turned 360 degrees. The Dairy Barn also offered a Colossal Sundae, which was a gallon bucket of ice cream with many toppings and flavors. Ithaca College professor James Rada experienced the joy of having one all to himself.

The fair also had a petting zoo exhibit with zebras, a camel, goats and a huge ox. Fair-goers could buy food and feed the animals as well as pet them. “They had kangaroos which were so cute, but they looked really hot,” said Ithaca College student, Samantha Dorazio.

Right across from the petting zoo was a circus event. Different performers would come out on stage and do balancing acts, rope performances and interactive comedy with the audience.

Nick Jonas performed at the Chevy Stage at 6 p.m. and was clearly worth the wait. By 4 p.m., every seat in the audience was filled and not a half hour later the grassy area behind the fence was all full too. He opened with "Chains" and went on to delight the audience with three new songs he is working on. Jonas also performed "Introducing Me," a cover of an Outcast song and a cover of a song by The Weeknd. He closed his hour-long performance with "Jealous." “My favorite part about the fair that day was Nick Jonas. His voice was like an angel's,” commented sophomore Danielle Bucior.

Labor Day at the New York State Fair closed with a beautiful firework display at 8 p.m. Fireworks of every color shot into the air and wowed everyone watching.