The Wisconsin State Fair achieved another record year with 1,030,881 attendees total, building on its 2013 attendance of 1,012,552, fair officials announced on Monday.
Last year’s fair drew the most attendees in nearly 45 years, according to fair officials.
“Wisconsin State Fair has long been considered one of the top fairs in the United States by many measures, and achieving attendance of over one million two years in a row solidifies this even more,” said Rick Frenette, chief executive officer of Wisconsin State Fair Park. “It is an honor to reach this landmark number again, showing how much people truly enjoy this historic 11 days that celebrates Wisconsin. I’d like to extend a sincere thank you to everyone who came out to enjoy the event, as well as our sponsors and partners who helped us make it another fantastic fair.”
U.S. Cellular served as the presenting sponsor of both the 2013 and 2014 fairs.
During two weekend days this year, the fair achieved two of the highest paid attendance days in its history. On Saturday, Aug. 2, more than 128,000 fairgoers explored fair grounds, and on Saturday, Aug. 9 close to 137,000 people participated in fair festivities.
“We are aware that another year of great weather helped us once again reach over one million in attendance, but beautiful weather does not necessarily mean people want to attend your event,” said John Yingling, chairman of the Wisconsin State Fair Park board. “There are many things people can enjoy on a beautiful summer day in Wisconsin, and the fact that these people chose to spend their time enjoying the Wisconsin State Fair is a testament to the quality of the event and the memorable experiences that our visitors have each year.”
Additional highlights from the 2014 fair include:
*Participation by more than 2,700 exhibitors in fair competitions, with some taking part in multiple classes
*A record sale of cream puffs – 400,678 total
*Record proceeds of more than $150,000 in the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Meat Products Auction
*Record proceeds of $313,350 in the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction
*About 18,500 downloads of the fair’s new mobile app
Next year’s fair festivities are scheduled to run Aug. 6 – 16.
