Wisconsin Ag Connection - Wisconsin State Fair Sets Another Attendance Record!

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Wisconsin State Fair Sets Another Attendance Record!
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 08/14/2019

Organizers of the 168th Wisconsin State Fair say a record 1,130,572 people went through the gates during its 11-day run this month, which is also the seventh year in a row where attendance exceeded a million visitors. Fair Spokesperson Kristi Chuckel says near-perfect weather and good entertainment helped bring out the crowds each day.

"The only State Fair in the history of the event reporting higher attendance was in 1948 when the fair was 23 days long in celebration of Wisconsin's Centennial year," Chuckel said. "The attendance that year equated to an average of 77,688 people per day. The 2019 average daily attendance was 102,779."

She adds that more than 3,600 exhibitors participated in fair contests, including agriculture, art, horticulture, culinary and more. Fairgoers also enjoyed 60,000 grilled cheese sandwiches at the Real Wisconsin Cheese Grill, 41,000 Wisconsin Baked Potatoes and 20,000 Butterfly Pork Sandwiches at the Pork Shoppe.

The 2019 fair also sold over 400,000 cream puffs and thousands of glasses of lemonade. Another 120,000 visitors slid down the Giant Slide.

Meanwhile, the Governor's Blue Ribbon Livestock Auction auctioned off 25 animals including market steers, barrows and lambs, raising nearly $256,000. A portion of the auction proceeds are awarded to the youth exhibiting the champion animals and the balance is used to produce the auction and support youth agriculture programs and scholarships. Many animals were donated to charities by buyers.

Entries from the meat products show were donated to the Governor's Blue Ribbon Meat Products Auction, which raised over $100,000 this year to support 4-H members in the state. And the Blue Ribbon Dairy Products Auction also raised $52,000 for youth scholarships and dairy promotions.

Next year's Wisconsin State Fair will take place August 6-16, 2020.

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