State Fair attendance is expected to be about the same as last year, if not a little lower. Still, the director says he’s pleased with the turnout.
Director Mark Wolfe says there were some concerns about the one thing they can’t control during the fair each year… the weather.
“I think it went very well,” he says. “I think we had just about every kind of weather you could imagine and I think some of the other fairs in surrounding states had just about the same stuff.”
He says the final numbers aren’t in yet, but he thinks the attendance numbers are close to last year’s totals, a result he says he’s pleased with.
Wolfe says he thinks keeping the fair affordable and offering a variety of activities and attractions that appeal to all tastes are key to drawing a good crowd each year. He says that the number of entries for agriculture, horticulture and fine arts were at an all time high this year, which speaks volume for the goods our state has to offer.
The prices grand champion lifestock drew at auction was notably down, a factor Wolfe says is likely an indicator that sponsors are holding back a little bit amid a tough economy.
He says there were over 31,000 total ag entries and more than 15,000 livestock shown, up 185 over the 2009 fair.
The final fair attendance numbers will be available in mid-September.