Fair opens Friday for 10-day run

As the Spokane County Interstate Fair opens Friday, county leaders hope last year’s attendance uptick was more than an aberration.

Fair attendance was up in 2005 for the first time since 1998. Still, it was only the second time since 1968 that participants numbered below 200,000.

County officials are trying a mix of pricing promotions and increased entertainment options to continue last year’s trend.

“We have something going on almost every night of the 10-day fair,” said Rich Hartzell, assistant director of the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center.

The fair, which will cost about $1.2 million, brings about 60 percent of the revenue needed to sustain the Fair and Expo Center for the year.

“If we have a bad fair, then it becomes a cause for concern for the overall fairgrounds,” County Commissioner Mark Richard said.

And the higher the attendance, the more money raised to bring better acts to the fair the next year, Hartzell said.

“It’s just a domino effect,” he said.

The key, Richard said, is “to provide options for the whole family,” and that’s what the fair is trying to do.

This year events include four nights of big-name musical acts, a skateboarding demonstration, pig races, an all-night computer game marathon and lumberjack shows.

Fair and Expo Center Director Dolly Hughes said the fair tries to balance between the usual fair attractions, such as farm animals and craft competitions, and what’s popular for a more urban audience.

She added that entrance fees were held to last year’s prices to help keep numbers up. Folks will get in for half price Friday. Members of the military, police officers and firefighters will get in free Monday. Seniors pay no entrance fees on Tuesday.

Another factor could favor an increase in fair attendance this year: high gas prices.

“It’s a great alternative to filling up that gas tank and driving across the country,” Hartzell said.

A study done of last year’s fair gave some indication that attendance may have bottomed out. Of 317 people surveyed, 91 percent said they would come back this year, and 88 percent said the fairgrounds are in excellent condition. (This year the fair completed $22.5 million in construction projects that have remade the expo center allowing for more events.)

The key is reaching out to new folks, said Chris Frye, owner of Sport Business Interests, which conducted the study.

“It’s easy to say there’s a problem, but it’s hard to say exactly what it is,” Frye said.

Three of the four music acts at this year’s fair are country artists, including the Oak Ridge Boys, who perform Tuesday. Frye praised the effort to bring more entertainment and the skateboard shows, but he said putting the emphasis on country artists may not bring new fairgoers through the gates. He speculates that country music attracts many of the people who already attend for the traditional agricultural portions of the fair.

To expand attendance, Frye recommends artists of different genres, such as pop or rap music.

Despite the smaller crowds, county leaders say the fair is significant for area residents. Frye’s study showed that last year’s fair brought about $6 million into the Spokane County economy.

“It’s an important county cultural cornerstone,” Richard said.