County fair attendance dips, demo derby numbers rise

The ever-popular demolition derby crashed its way to higher numbers than ever at the 164th Butler County Fair, but mid-week weather put a damper on overall attendance numbers.

Attendance figures show that 73,188 people turned out to the Butler County Fairgrounds last week, almost 5,000 fewer than the 78,065 who showed for the 2013 fair, according to Dan Martin, the fairs manager.

Wednesday it rained and we lost about 10,000 (people), Martin said. If we would have had that, we would have been right at 83,000, which is about our norm. If we can get between 80,000 and 85,000, were in good shape.

Attendance for the annual agricultural showcase has fluctuated in recent years, going from approximately 89,000 in 2009 to about 96,000 in 2010, 77,000 in 2011 and 66,000 in 2012, Martin said.

Having a slight dip in attendance for this years fair is not necessarily cause for concern, he said.

Its a hit, but its not earth-shattering, Martin said. We can obviously sustain without record attendance every day. Its just a little bit of a drop in revenue, so well tighten our belts a little bit and move forward.

The biggest overall draw to last weeks fair was Friday nights demolition derby, he said.

It always is, Martin said. Everybody always seems to come on Friday evening and enjoy the demolition derby. Its the most popular grandstand event we have.

A big crowd on Friday night not only boosts gate and grandstand revenue, it also creates a spillover effect that benefits food vendors and ride operators, he said.

Kent Taylor, treasurer for the Butler County Agricultural Society, said Fridays derby drew 76 entries, up from 50 to 55 in previous years.

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County fair attendance dips, demo derby numbers rise