Nice weather leads to big turnout for 80th State Fair

PALMER — Alaska State Fair Marketing and Communications Director Dean Phipps said he couldn’t remember a fair with a better stretch of warm, sunny days than the 2016 edition, which wrapped up on Labor Day. Although hard numbers won’t be available until later this week, Phipps said both Saturdays drew in substantial numbers.

“I think this was the best fair weather-wise since the late 1980’s,” Phipps said. “It’s hard to get (a total attendance figure) right now. We have so many outlets that we need to get numbers back from. We had a couple of really good days…I saw more cars parked than in years.”

Phipps said while it is difficult to base attendance on vehicles, he said the fairgrounds’ three main parking areas were filled to capacity both Saturdays.

“We have 40 acres which we can use for overflow. The second Saturday, we were in there really early. I think that’s a good indication (on numbers),” Phipps said. “We had better weather last week and two strong weekends but I think our Labor day (numbers) were down (because of the rain). We’re hopeful but we’ve been trained to wait and see.”

Phipps said there were several sellout events this year.

“All three monster truck performances were filled to capacity and the G-Eazy concert sold out,” said Phipps. “(But) It’s all about the food. You don’t see people not eating at the fair. That’s always consistent.”

It appears those vendors also benefited from the good weather. Phipps said he noticed quite a few people around the venue. The fair benefits financially from the total number of tickets sold for that part of the fair.

“I think, overall, the concerts were well attended. Some did really well, some not. But that’s the way it always goes,” Phipps said.

Phipps said another thing he was pleased with is the dedication of “The Gathering Place”—and the Dena’ Stage dedication. He said long-term plans call for reconfiguring the area to help participating native vendors.

“We hope to make that more successful than ever,” Phipps said. “It will be a pretty neat area. We have plans to develop a year-round building there.”

Phipps said this fair may have just wrapped up its 12-day run, but that doesn’t mean work isn’t already underway for the 2017 version.

“I’m already on top of a dozen things that we can do better,” Phipps said.

He said one area of focus is continuing to improve the fair’s overall wireless presence and what organizers can do to hasten the transition. Phipps said in addition to traditional media such as print and broadcast, those involved with the fair are making more of an effort to focus on web and social media.

“Our coverage with social media was better. There were many, many things going on. We were all over the place on the web with Twitter and Facebook,” Phipps said. “A lot of people want everything on their smartphone.”

During and leading up to the fair, Phipps said he estimates that about 475 people are involved in making sure operations run smoothly.

“Some people forget that we are a year-round organization. We have major events all year long,” Phipps said.

While the employee count rises substantially around fair time, the organization maintains a full-time employee count of 15-18 individuals. There’s also a maintenance crew of four to handle grounds duties for the various events throughout the year.

“Overall, I think we did a good job with the resources that we had,” Phipps concluded.