State Fair hits one million mark

Iowa’s State Fair reached a milestone this summer. Officials with the fair say final attendance figures show just over one million people attended the 2002 fair. It’s the first time attendance has broken the one million mark in the Fair’s 148-year history. Fair officials credit good weather and several promotions for pushing the attendance up over last year’s total of 985-thousand. A visit by President Bush to the fair August 14th is also credited with driving up attendance. Fair officials say the increased attendance was good news for vendors, who saw their concession and exhibit revenue increase 10-percent. Kathie Swift, the State Fair’s advertising and public relations director, says they saw a 20-percent upsurge in sale of advance gate tickets, had the largest final-day turnout ever in 148 years. She says it helped that people bought tickets in advance and came out for the final Sunday. Swift says the theme for the 2003 fair will be “One in a Million,” and they’re working on it already.