News / The Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com
Satisfied, all things considered: Given state of economy, county officals happy with this year's turnout
 |
By Preston Knight - pknight@nvdaily.com
Now that fair season has passed, all that is left are memories and numbers.
Officials with fairs across the Northern Shenandoah Valley said they were satisfied with attendance figures this year, a sign that the economy did not deter people from visiting their county's biggest annual event. The Frederick County Fair, though, was the only one of the four local events to report an increase in attendance.
The Shenandoah County Fair, which marked the end of the regional fair circuit Saturday, saw a 3 percent drop from 2009.
"Given the state of the world and everything else -- it would've been nice to say we were up 3 percent -- we're holding our own," said Dean Morgan, general manager of the Shenandoah County Fair Association.
Paid attendance for the fair was 29,035, down from 29,997 last year. Those numbers are difficult to judge historically, however, because previous figures appear to account for each time someone was "clicked" in at the gates, Morgan said. When people leave the fair and plan to return, their hands are stamped, meaning they could be counted multiple times if they leave and return on several occasions, as 4-H members often do, he said.
There were 47,198 people clicked through the gates in 2010 compared to 60,486 last year, but Morgan said he has a "hard time" trusting those numbers.
"There may be no clickers [next year]," he said.
In Frederick County, attendance went up from 31,295 last year to 34,304 this year, said Richard Leight, president of its fair association. Those numbers are inexact, he added.
The 30,000-35,000 range is the event's typical attendance, Leight said, meaning the down economy did not equate to less interest.
"People tried to look for something more local to do," he said. "What we've tried to do the last couple of years is provide people with something they normally don't get to see ... make it more inviting to come to the fair."
Clarke County's fair had about 28,500 people attend, which was down a little from 2009, treasurer Elmer Lloyd Jr. said. Last year's figures were not immediately available.
The decrease had more to do with hot weather and rain at different points in the week than it did the economy, Lloyd said.
"All in all, we had a good year," he said.
Warren County Fair Association President Joye Wood declined to give exact attendance numbers, but said approximately 18,000-19,000 people came through the gates this year, which was about the same as last year. She said fairgoers have come to learn what they can afford at the event thanks to making grandstand entertainment free with the price of admission.
In Shenandoah County, Morgan, who just completed his first fair as general manager, said additional free events are a possibility next year. There were two free concerts this year, although one was unplanned after Uncle Kracker canceled his show.
A magician and an expanded petting zoo are among the early ideas possible for next year, Morgan said, and he will continue to scour other county fairs around the nation to "cherry pick" the best things from each.
"One thing people do understand -- free is free," he said.
Leave a comment
Comments
Comments that are posted on nvdaily.com represent the opinion of the commenter and not the Northern Virginia Daily/nvdaily.com.
Comments that contain Web addresses, e-mail addresses, personal attacks, name-calling or personal information considered by the editor to be inappropriate for posting here will not be posted.
Commenters agree to abide by our COMMENTS POLICY when posting. Questions? E-mail us at info@nvdaily.com.