Set your sights on savings ... or a Curious George knock-off stuffed animal.

Let's start at the gate with the price of admission. It requires some planning, but the best thing you can do is buy your tickets before the fair starts. If you get your tickets before Thursday, they're only $8, plus they're good for any day of the fair. That's $3 off the normal ticket price, that's half a pronto-pup!

Next, buy your tickets to the Mighty Midway and Kidway ahead of time. Tickets are normally a fairly steep $.75 each, $20 per sheet of 30, or $30 per sheet of 50. But if you buy them in advance, you can snag them for $10 for a sheet of 20. More tickets means more opportunities to puke up your newly digested bacon on a stick.

As if you needed another reason to skip work tomorrow to go the fair on opening day, it's also Thrifty Thursday. Everybody a the gate is admitted for the child's price of $8, and kids tickets are $5. Several food stands will also have reduced rates.

Timing is also important for saving cash. Sunset Sunday Savings, a new feature this year, has many food vendors offering at least 20 percent off all food from 8 p.m. to close on Aug. 24 and 31. And if you're bringing a bunch or kids (or if you just really want to win a giant stuffed animal) get to the midway on weekday mornings for discounted prices on rides games until 1 p.m.

And keep in mind as a last resort, if you can't make it to the fair during a big discount day, every fair information stand can provide you with a Deals, Drawings & Giveaway Guide which will point you to the freebies and stuff for less than $1.