This summer, a number of newcomers join New York State’s already plentiful tourist destinations and jam-packed events calendar—from interactive comedy, cultural and history museums, to craft beverage trails and trolleys to 1000-feet-per-minute mountainside gondolas.

Here’s just a summer sampling of what’s new:

NY Loves Lucy: This summer marks the opening of the $50 million National Comedy Center in the Jamestown birthplace of legendary comedian Lucille Ball. The world-class museum and visitor experience is set to open during the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in August, which draws A-list comedians to the city every year. The new Comedy Center will feature its own A-List attractions: 50 high-tech, immersive exhibits, including holograms of famous comedians, past and present, performing their best-known routines.

Blowing Glass on a Barge: To mark the 150th anniversary of glassmaking in Corning, the Corning Museum of Glass is launching the GlassBarge, the museum's floating glassmaking exhibit. The GlassBarge will sail along the Hudson River and Erie Canal, from Brooklyn to Albany, west to Buffalo and south to Watkins Glen. The tour ends on land with a September celebration in Corning. Click here for more information about the GlassBarge, along with scheduled stops and demonstrations.

Experience New York’s Underground Railroad journey: The newly opened Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center offers visitors an immersive experience into the stories of Underground Railroad freedom seekers and the abolitionists in the Niagara Falls region, a major transit point on the railroad. The museum’s permanent exhibition, “One More River to Cross,” and the recreation of the International Suspension Bridge, spotlights the importance of the region’s location near the Canadian border. 

Climb a Catskill Mountain at Top Speed: The new  Catskill Thunder gondola—the first and only one in the Catskills—takes passengers up Belleayre Mountain at speeds of up to 1,000 feet per minute. The gondola enables lift-serviced mountain biking and year-round scenic rides to the mountaintop.

Interested in learning more? Go to iloveny.com for full details of all that is happening across New York State’s 11 vacation regions.