Fair sets attendance record

COEUR d'ALENE — First, there was smoke. Then there was fire — as in sizzling hot attendance at the North Idaho State Fair.

Alexcia Jordan, Kootenai County Fairgrounds general manager, said late Tuesday that the record for fair attendance was shattered this year. The previous record, 84,600 set in 2016, fell when 85,448 walked through the gates this year.

"It was an amazing week," she said. "Even when it rained some on Sunday people came out and had a great time.

"A lot of it has to do with the weather, and it wasn't too hot or too cold."

Jordan said wildfire smoke in the middle of the week had her concerned that many folks wouldn't attend Wednesday's opening day, but that day was still well-attended and the beat continued throughout the five-day event.

Jordan said all of the events at the arena were sold out in the grandstands. Visitors noted positive changes such as new sidewalks and lighting.

"We've tried to make accessibility to the grounds easier," she said.

Another change that was made was charging $5 for bleacher seating for the rodeo on Friday and Saturday.

"It was reaching overcapacity before, so that wasn't safe and we assigned all the seating," she said. "It worked out great that people could have their own seat and didn't have to hold a spot all day."

Jordan said there was no charge for bleacher seats during the Sunday rodeo.

"We want to give something back to the community with the Sunday performance," she said.

Jordan said the gate admission was raised to $10 for adults about five years ago and there are no plans to change that.

"We still want this event to be family-friendly and affordable," she said, adding that ticket discounts were offered.

Jordan said one improvement that needs to be made is with purchasing tickets.

"We'll try to continue to encourage people to purchase their tickets early so they're not stuck in the line at the fair," she said.

The new RV park off Dalton Avenue at the fairgrounds is partially open, as eight of the 28 spaces were rented during the fair.

"We were up to the wire on getting everything done, so we didn't want to book it with a bunch of people then potentially not have it available," she said. "It's not quite landscaped, but we're getting awfully close."

Spaces will be $40 per night and the maximum stay is 14 days.

The "Barn in the USA" theme was a hit at this year's fair, Jordan said.

"That theme carried throughout the fair and was on a lot of the exhibits," she said.

Next year's theme will be "The Fair Necessities."

"When I shared that with the 4-Hers, they seemed to want to get creative for next year," Jordan said. "I heard so many compliments on the quality of the fair that we brought this year and we hope to do even better next year."