Fair draws more than 218,000 with ‘new excitement’

Sunny skies and good musical acts helped push attendance at this year’s Spokane County Interstate Fair above 200,000 for the first time since 2003, a 13 percent increase over last year’s total.

The official count of 218,789 people for the 10-day fair was almost 30,000 more than a 2004 total of 189,066.

“We did a better job of getting our story out there,” said Rich Hartzell, assistant director of the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center. “I think we brought in a new excitement.”

Numbers were boosted with concerts by popular artists like Lee Greenwood and the Oak Ridge Boys, Hartzell said.

A new logging show, as well as improved pig races and some rearrangement of exhibits also helped to bring in more visitors, Hartzell said.

“We always have room for improvement, but I think it was a good fair,” he said.

Carnival officials said their business improved by 20 percent this year, and food vendors had matched last year’s total receipts nine days into the fair.

The fall weather was similar to last year’s fair, which had eight sunny days and two rainy days, Hartzell said. In 2004, it rained eight of the 10 days.

The increased numbers still fell short of the record set in 1989 of almost 400,000 visitors.

This year’s fair was the final one for outgoing director Dolly Hughes, who is retiring after 10 years on the job.