Preliminary attendance figures are in for the 2008 Missouri State Fair , and Fair Marketing Director Tammie Nichols says there are a lot of smiles among State Fair officials in Sedalia as there is a 20 percent increase over 2007.

Early attendance numbers show 285,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles this year. That number is expected to rise to 320,000 once advance admission ticket outlets report their totals.

Not all is rosy. Nichols says there was a bit of disappointment with the numbers from the grandstand shows, which were lower than anticipated. But those events still raked in $150,000 in profit for the State Fair.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)