The Wisconsin State Fair ended on Monday, racking in a total attendance of 1,003,450 over its 11-day run. That’s a 19% increase over its 2021 attendance, of 841,074.
The State Fair was canceled in 2020 due to COVID. Its pre-pandemic 2019 event broke a modern attendance record with a total of 1,130,572. And the year before that, the fair attracted 1,037,982 people.
The Fair has, on average, been growing in attendance for years, with 774,650 attendees in 2001.
One of the other major events of the season, Summerfest, brought in 445,611 attendees this July, an 8.8% increase from its 2021 attendance of 409,386. The music festival’s 2019 pre-pandemic attendance was 718,144.
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“After 171 years, the Wisconsin State Fair remains a time-honored tradition for our community and state,” said Shari Black, the chief executive officer and executive director of Wisconsin State Fair Park, in a press release. “The noteworthy attendance of the Wisconsin State Fair is proof that fairs continue to be a mainstay in Wisconsin summers. With another phenomenal State Fair in the books, together as a staff, we look forward to 2023.”
Gertrude’s Pretzels served nearly 13,000 of its Sporkies-winning Peño Pretzel Popper Brats at the event this year. One hundred thousand ears of corn were eaten. And fairgoers bought 320,000 of the fair’s famous cream puffs.
Next year’s State Fair is already scheduled for Aug. 3-13, 2023.
Photos From This Year’s Fair:
