MONROE – Born in Seattle and raised in San Jose, Calif., Steve Marquis is a city boy.
Yet, the Fall City electronics engineer adores horses and cowboys. On Monday, Marquis, 47, saw a live rodeo for the first time at the Evergreen State Fair.
Marquis was in awe looking at riders holding onto bucking horses. “It’s outrageous how they can do it,” he said.
While the audience hooted and cheered for the riders in the arena, people kept pouring into the fairgrounds on the last day of the biggest fair in Snohomish County.
On a day-to-day comparison through Sunday, the fair drew 2,400 people more than last year, said Mark Campbell, the fair’s manager. The official turnout was unavailable Monday, but Campbell estimated that this year’s attendance will exceed last year’s 839,000.
Despite the high turnout, the fair didn’t have any major incidents, said Elizabeth Grant, the fair’s marketing director.
“We had a very smooth-sailing fair,” she said, adding that lost children were about the most serious incidents reported.
Campbell attributed the good attendance to the weather, which was cooperative on most days during the 12-day fair, and to the improving economy and ongoing population growth in the county.
Attendance was up at entertainment events, but the fair also focused on its roots of agricultural education with good agricultural displays, Campbell said.
“A lot of things are happening, but it still has a lot of country elements,” he said.
The fair featured a raptor center for the first time, and received good feedback from the public, he added.
Along with the successes, staff learned some lessons this year, Campbell said. The fair needs to make it more efficient to bring people in and out of the fairgrounds from U.S. 2, he said.
Vehicle-type activities such as auto racing remained popular, Campbell said, but classic rock concerts seem to be a bit overdone.
“We are going to look for something different,” he said.
The fair is expected to create a long-range business plan in early November, Campbell said.
The fair’s success has created challenges, he said, with some aging facilities at the fairground in need of renovation.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@ heraldnet.com.
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