A rainy, grey, chilly Saturday appears to have taken a big bite out of State Fair attendance this year. The Department of Agriculture reports the Fair drew 205,172 visitors this year, down 5.55% from last year’s 217,231.
Nonetheless, the folks who did show up spent more money and paid more taxes than the larger 2018 crowd:
Fairgoer spending on goods, beverage, specialty concessions, and carnival rides were up nearly 8 percent, totaling more than $2.6 million. Goldstar Amusements, the State Fair’s carnival provider, set a record for carnival gross sales, up 2 percent. Sales tax was up 6.8 percent, exceeding $224,000. Commercial exhibitors, concessionaires, and vendors showcased at the fair totaled 435. Gate revenue was up 2.7 percent and total attendance was 205,172 [SD Department of Agriculture, press release, 2019.10.10].
I spent two days at the State Fair this year. I got in free one day courtesy of Farmers Union on Farmer Appreciation Day. And I didn’t spend a penny on the grounds: I packed lunch, supper, and breakfast and saved my money just so Susan at Potter’s Shoes could finally separated me from some of my green). So thank you, the 205,171 other of you fairgoers for making up for my cheapskatery! (Now if only you hadn’t bought so much of that soon-to-be obsolete Trump gear….)
Doesn’t surprise me as the food prices were up substantially. Did not make it to the rides this year but suspect that was more costly too.
I wonder what State Fair attendance was about 1970 or so? The fairgrounds were crowded then, but when I went in 1998, that was not so.
To Debbo- I think I can explain a little of your memories from 1998. I have been a faithful state fair attendee for most of the last 55-60 years. During the time period you are talking about, there was “talk” that the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls was much better than the State Fair, and because anything worthwhile only happens in Sioux Falls (Like the Governor’s Hunt), “people” felt the State Fair should be killed. Governor Janklow pledged to save the State Fair and make it better. DOC inmates were sent to do all sorts of upgrading and maintenance on buildings- good free labor- and improvements were made. Sometime later a large chunk of the Fair budget was moved to the DOC to help them balance their shortfalls (according to sources I knew at the time involved with the appropriations committee). This put the fair in worse shape than ever. The next move to save the fair was to move it from the end of August to July. This meant that 4-H kids were pushed to complete projects for local achievement days which were pushed up earlier to be ready for the fair. The quality of projects fell some and livestock was not in the same condition they would have been if they had been fed and worked with another month. The next idea was to make the fair last 10 days, in July, the hottest possible time, when farmers are busy putting up hay and beginning small grain harvest. Attendance dropped- too hot, too busy. In the next few years vendors quit coming because they didn’t want to sit in hot buildings for 10 days when attendance had fallen off considerably. It was 10 days of torture for reduced business. In a couple of years, several of the vendor stalls and buildings were empty or nearly empty. This resulted in even less people attending. And on it went!! It felt like the attempts to save the fair were really designed to kill it, and nearly did. Then administration changed and the fair was moved back to the traditional dates, and for five fun days instead of 10 grueling days. Attendance and revenues and vendor participation has come back. I don’t know how this would compare to the 1970’s. However, I would say the fair is alive and thriving when people quit trying to “save” it. My impressions may be all wrong, and I have no statistics to back up what I am saying, but I do have several decades of attendance and a little inside knowledge. Hopefully the State Fair will continue to flourish for many more decades.
Thanks Caroline, for the interesting info. I’m glad to hear it’s doing better.
The one thing they did to save the South Dakota State Fair was to get “god” out of it. It used to be filled with overgodding, and now you’re as likely to find a beast worshiper there as you are a bible thumper or Howite of Gordantic proportions.
You may not have stopped believing in your god, Ms. Geelsdottir, but he stopped believing in you.
I’m embarrassed for you, grudznick. That was a bad thing to say. I’m glad Debbo doesn’t read your posts. I know you know that and that’s why you’ve become so nasty. You’re just acting out to get attention from the rest of us, huh?
Got yer goat, Mr. Lansing. It’s too easy when using Ms. Geelsdottir as bait.
Yeah, you sure did. Using my friends as bait. Genius!
Porter, that’s what pathetic little grudz does best, act as bait. You know that sad little man isn’t happy unless he feels like he’s making someone else unhappy. We all know how messed up that is. If we all cease reading his comments, he’ll curl up in a corner and wither away. Not a bad outcome. 😁