Despite heavy rains that put a damper on attendance at the Arkansas State Fair earlier in the week, fair numbers increased this weekend and even had a record-breaking day Saturday.
"We did finish strong," fair spokesman Ralph Eubanks said Sunday, the fair's last day.
The fair had its largest single-day attendance number at 91,003 fairgoers on Saturday, according to a news release. The previous record for most people to attend the fair in a single day was at 88,769 on a Saturday in 2012.
Overall, the rain caused attendance to drop considerably, leaving this year's count through the first nine days at 306,548 people, down from the 2017 fair, which was at 450,702 people, according to a news release.
"We're going to be significantly down from last year's numbers," Eubanks said.
This is in line with the number of days affected by rain, the most Eubanks could remember in at least the last 10 years, he said. There were four substantial days of rain, up from last year's one rainy day.
Vendors saw dramatic decreases in profits on the rainy days. Michener Concessions, a kettle corn and pork skin stand from St. Joe, marked its 17th year at the fair, vendor Jaime Michener said. Michener's profit is down 40 to 50 percent from last year's.
Jesus Rosado, with The Last Frontier Snow Cone, has been selling snow cones at the fair for three or four years, he said. His profits ranged between $200 and $300 on a rainy day to $1,000 during a sunny day.
Ebony and Joseph Jenkins come to the fair Sunday because of the food -- Ebony gets a lamb gyro every year. They came to the fair twice this year, on Sunday and on a rainy Saturday last week, to eat some fair goodies, she said.
Joseph got the smoked ribs and Ebony tried the red-velvet funnel cake this year, they said. They're at the fair strictly for the food and don't like to go on the rides.
"We're too old for that," Ebony said about the rides.
The fair featured 56 rides this year, which is typical, Eubanks said. There are usually between 55 and 60 rides at the fair.
Anne, Steve and Sasha Allen attended the fair Sunday. Anne said her favorite ride was Crazy Mouse, while Sasha's favorite was the Tornado. They come to the fair just about every year, Steve said.
"You gotta come to the fair, especially on a pretty day like this," Steve said.
This is the second year that Arkansas State Fair officials have worked with North American Midway Entertainment to put on the event. North American Midway Entertainment provides the rides and the carnival workers, who began tearing down the fair at midnight Sunday and will move along to Alabama for its state fair, Eubanks said.
The fair involves thousands of people, and 250 of them are dedicated to security alone, Eubanks said.
In the upcoming weeks, fair officials will do an analysis of the event, evaluating changes they need to make for next year's fair. They will begin planning the 2019 fair in six to eight weeks, Eubanks said.
Metro on 10/22/2018