Breaking Fair Traditions: Is Free Admission the Key to Success?

So, we were able to get some of the numbers from the fair this year, although we had to get them through a second party. Whoever gave Q2 an interview was selling you a bill of goods. The attendance this year was not a record. In 2022, the attendance was 240,500; this year, it was 204,600. That's up from last year but not close to the previous.

The night show attendance was 13,079, down from 15,267 in 2023. The dollars generated from the night shows were down over 25% from last year and 46% from 2022. This is the one we have to look at. The paid gate admissions brought in $595,453.00. Attendance was down almost 40,000 since 2022.

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If admission was free, do you think those extra 40,000 people would have spent $12.50 while they were at the fair? Do you think more people would go more than once? Do you think they would blow the old attendance records out of the water? Even if carnival revenue and concession revenue increased to the county by 25%, they would make more money.

My point, once again: free admission would more than pay for the admission losses. Many fairs around the country have already done this and are reaping the benefits. Even here in Montana, fairs across the state have done it and have not gone back.

You constantly have to reinvent and be innovative in your approach to generate interest and get new people in. Just doing it the same old way for 100 years won't work in today's world. Maybe next year, try it for a day and see...

See ya tomorrow at 5!