After the Washington State Garlic Fest finished up its last day on Sunday and the Southwest Washington Fair wound down just a week earlier, two weeks of fun at the fairgrounds have officially come to an end.
Unofficial statistics on attendance and the number of exhibits show both events growing in different ways, while fair officials say revenue likely remained stagnant.
The Southwest Washington Fair saw a jump in the number of exhibits and exhibitors while the Washington State Garlic Fest saw a major jump in attendance.
While revenue numbers are not yet available, Southwest Washington Fairgrounds Fair and Events Manager Fionna Velazquez said that despite attendance growing revenue likely didn’t.
“While attendance was up, revenue wasn't necessarily significantly up, which just kind of shows the trend, which was similar at the fair that even though attendance was nearly the same, people weren't spending quite as much,” Velazquez said. “So that does seem to be the trend.”
The Southwest Washington Fair saw slightly fewer visitors than last year with the unofficial numbers counting 87,369 attendees compared to last year's estimate of just around 88,300.
While attendance dropped slightly, it stayed significantly above previous years. The fair attracted around 72,000 people in 2023 and 79,000 in 2022, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
Velazquez said weather might have impacted attendance as the office saw a drop on opening day Tuesday, Aug. 12, when temperatures rose to around 95 degrees and on Friday when fairgoers endured a downpour.
While attendance stayed relatively the same, the number of exhibits and exhibitors took a major leap this year, with unofficial numbers counting roughly 1,000 exhibitors and more than 8,500 exhibits. The 2024 Southwest Washington Fair featured less than 7,000 exhibits from 912 exhibitors.
“Despite these challenges, overall engagement remained strong, and we are very encouraged by this year’s turnout,” Velzaquez said over email.
The Washington State Garlic Fest had a major jump in attendance, according to the first numbers from fair officials, with estimates at 5,021 people coming to the fairgrounds from Friday through Sunday compared to around 3,700 the year before.
“According to preliminary numbers, it looks like we are ahead of last year in both attendance and revenue,” Velazquez said. “The heat did hit us significantly. The crowd definitely came in the mornings and then dwindled in the afternoon when the temperature rose significantly.”
Velazquez added during an update to the county commissioners that data from online ticket sales show the Garlic Fest attracting a different group than those who attended the fair the week before.
Data shows the Washington State Garlic Fest pulled from major metro areas such as Seattle and Portland.
