Fair Attendance Was More Than Middlin’ The Crowds Grew As The Mercury Dropped
A break in the heat wave is credited with driving up attendance at the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo.
A total of 68,899 people poured through the gates from last Wednesday to Sunday. Weekend visitors pushed the fair’s attendance above last year’s by 4 percent, said Manager Chris Holloway. Last year, the annual five-day event attracted 66,000 people.
But numbers fell short of 1998’s record attendance of 72,000 people. The famous Budweiser Clydesdale Horse Team was at the fair that year, Holloway said.
Temperatures in the 90s on Wednesday and Thursday helped keep people at the beach, but Saturday’s moderate 75 degrees brought crowds streaming through the gates, Holloway said.
“Gate attendance for Saturday was better than it was in ‘98,” she said.
Among the events drawing big crowds were rodeo performances, the demolition derby, a hypnotist, and a new event - pig racing.
“The pig racing was hysterical,” Holloway said of the contests in which four pigs would charge around a fence, vying for the Oreo cookie at the finish line. The pigs had silly names, such as Elvis Pigsley and Kevin Bacon. The announcers dressed in hillbilly clothing and divided the crowd into four parts, each cheering for a different pig.
Holloway said another new feature that proved to be a hit was the family fun area, which included a clown, hay maze and games.
“That’s probably an area we will continue to develop,” Holloway said.
The county fairgrounds earns 70 percent of its total budget of $700,000 - roughly $490,000 - from the fair.
“We have five days to make 70 percent of our total. It’s very important so we pray for good weather,” Holloway said. The other 30 percent comes from sponsorships, renting out the fairgrounds and property taxes.
Holloway said the fair would like to become self-supporting and not need a share of county property taxes anymore. Before that can happen, however, electrical wiring needs to be improved, the food court building needs to be paid off and the grounds need to be upgraded.
“Then, of course, if we have a bad fair …,” she said. “Five days of rain will throw you.”