Arizona State Fair ends on high note
Michael Chow/The Arizona Republic
Kaylee Albright, 3 from Cave Creek, rubs her nose on a stuffed pig that her dad won for her during the last day of the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix.
by William Hermann - Nov. 7, 2010 10:10 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Valley economy may be stalled, but the Arizona State Fair has been in high gear since it opened Oct. 15 and was at cruising speed Sunday as it closed.
"I love the fair. It's exciting and there are people everywhere and rides and food and shows and just a lot of energy," fairgoer Melinda Yanez, 19, said as she and some laughing girlfriends stood on the crowded midway in line for a dizzying ride called Tango. "Now if I can just keep my lunch down when we get on that thing, I'll be happy."
Yanez was part of a vast throng that jammed almost every available square foot of the fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. The sun shone and the 82-degree temperature meant many folks were wearing tank tops, T-shirts and shorts.
Fair marketing director Kristi Walsh said this year's fair attendance will almost certainly top last year's. She said 2009 saw 961,436 people at the fair. As of Sunday morning, 935,535 people had passed through the entry gates.
"We're behind our record-setting year of 2006, when the economy was still in good shape. We had 1,303,690 people that year," Walsh said. "But in 2006, we also had 21 days of fair, and this year we had 18 days, so that's an important factor."
Walsh said she believes there are several reasons why the fair has bucked grim unemployment numbers and a generally moribund economy.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/07/20101107arizona-state-fair-attendance.html#ixzz14ghtm7Vd
Michael Chow/The Arizona RepublicKaylee Albright, 3 from Cave Creek, rubs her nose on a stuffed pig that her dad won for her during the last day of the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix.
by William Hermann - Nov. 7, 2010 10:10 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Valley economy may be stalled, but the Arizona State Fair has been in high gear since it opened Oct. 15 and was at cruising speed Sunday as it closed.
"I love the fair. It's exciting and there are people everywhere and rides and food and shows and just a lot of energy," fairgoer Melinda Yanez, 19, said as she and some laughing girlfriends stood on the crowded midway in line for a dizzying ride called Tango. "Now if I can just keep my lunch down when we get on that thing, I'll be happy."
Yanez was part of a vast throng that jammed almost every available square foot of the fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. The sun shone and the 82-degree temperature meant many folks were wearing tank tops, T-shirts and shorts.
Fair marketing director Kristi Walsh said this year's fair attendance will almost certainly top last year's. She said 2009 saw 961,436 people at the fair. As of Sunday morning, 935,535 people had passed through the entry gates.
"We're behind our record-setting year of 2006, when the economy was still in good shape. We had 1,303,690 people that year," Walsh said. "But in 2006, we also had 21 days of fair, and this year we had 18 days, so that's an important factor."
Walsh said she believes there are several reasons why the fair has bucked grim unemployment numbers and a generally moribund economy.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/07/20101107arizona-state-fair-attendance.html#ixzz14ghtm7Vd
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