INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana State Fair has closed its doors for the year, with a drop in attendance from last year:
At 860,131 visitors, the fair posted the third-lowest attendance since expanding to 17 days in 2009. A couple of days of rain helped push attendance down 5-percent compared to last year.
The fair did set a single-day attendance record — last week’s discount Tuesday was the biggest-ever weekday crowd,with 91,000 people.
The fair set an attendance record in 2013 but has dropped in four of the five years since.
Spokeswoman Sharon Smith says planning for the 2019 fair begins almost immediately, with staffers compiling after-action reports on how their segments of the fair performed, and what to add or improve for next year.
And Smith says the fair isn’t ruling out a return engagement for the Big Top Circus. The custom-built circus mounted three free shows a day to spotlight the fair’s “Year of the Circus.” Smith says both the attendance and the feedback from fairgoers has been strong.
(Photo: Eric Berman/WIBC)
