While county fair organizers were pleased with new attractions and a big boost in animal participation, paid attendance dropped by about 6 percent compared with the prior year’s numbers.
Hot weather over the first weekend in October likely contributed to the slight drop in attendance – which still eclipsed 2012 levels – but it didn’t stop fair faithfuls from coming out and participating in the annual tradition, said Donnette Silva Carter, the fair’s chief executive officer.
Organizers made changes this year to the entertainment lineup, layout and vendor offerings and received positive feedback, the CEO said.
“Everybody came back with so much excitement over the Alaskan racing pigs,” Silva Carter said about one of the attractions in the livestock area of the fairgrounds.
As for the core fair activities – livestock entries – those numbers were up in 2014. There were 385 entries this year compared with 304 in 2013, Silva Carter said.
Aside from the entertainment and vendors, the fair also expanded its business-sponsorship offerings, such as varying levels of sponsorship and allowing businesses to sponsor specific departments.
Organizers are already thinking ahead to next year and how they can enhance the experience even more, while they are considering more of a focus on horse show and rodeo events.
“We want to remind people that the fair actually starts the weekend before with a lot of those activities,” she said.
This year’s fair brought out 11,205 paid attendees compared with 11,915 last year, she said, while relatively hot temperatures were in the 90s that weekend.
