Looking for a good time? The 5th running of Granite State Fair begins Thursday at 4

Llamas peer out from their pen at all the activity as fair organizers prepare the opening day on Thursday (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Fiesta Show crews and Granite State Fair organizers were busy on Tuesday placing and hooking up carnival rides, putting a sparkle on food trailers and kiosks and doing some final construction near the front gate as they prepare for the fair's opening on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Fair organizer Mark Perry said Granite State and former Rochester Fair icon Joel Sherburne, who has been manning the PA system at the fair for decades, will be there to open the fair again.

Len Hersey, center, and Mike Grant, right, both of Halls Bros. Roofing, getting ready for the Granite State Fair's grand opening on Thursday.

RAMA member Nancy Gilbert said she hoped to be picking him up at a local assisted living facility and bringing him down to the fair's grand opening a little before 4 p.m.
Sherburne came to his first fair - then the Rochester Fair - in 1949.
"My family would come during the day," he said. "We'd bring a lunch."
Sherburne said he began working for the fair in his teens, distributing posters, fliers and pamphlets all over the Seacoast signaling its return every year.
"I put huge signs on the barns if the owner allowed me," he said in a 2023 interview with The Voice.
Meanwhile, folks looking to attend the fair this year should note that the Bridge Street bridge will be closed throughout the fair.
Thru traffic is being detoured to River Street, and city officials say that motorists may experience delays in the area. Visitors are encouraged to use alternate routes whenever possible.
Opening day won't feature any Grandstand events, but the Exhibition Hall and midway will be open as well as the Petting Zoo. Circus Hollywood is also back and will have two shows at 5 and 8 p.m.