Final attendance numbers are not in yet, but Illinois State Fair Manager Kevin Gordon says he has been hearing from the fair’s vendors that their sales were up this year.
“One of the gentlemen that was out here, he’s third-generation, his family’s been out vending for thirty years, said he’s had the best weekend they’ve ever had at the Illinois State Fair saleswise. So, I mean, we’re very happy with that,” Gordon said.
Gordon attributes most of the fair’s growth to new contests and promotions, like the discount “Feeding Frenzy” on food each day, more live music and the return of acts like the popular High Dive Show.
Records were broken for both Illinois State Fair Grandstand concert ticket sales and revenue this year. The grandstand ended up bringing in nearly $2.275 million, while selling 63,513 tickets to nine shows.
This year’s Governor’s Sale of Champions saw nearly $170,000 spent between the commodities and livestock auctions. The Grand Champion Steer bested last year’s price by $15,000, selling to First Lady MK Pritzker for $75,000.
“There seemed to be a cloud over the fair for the last few years. I think part of that was the budget issues and the stalemate downtown. You know that lifted, and people feel good,” Gordon said.
