Merced County Fair attendance up from last year

Merced County Fair attendance rose by 2 percent this month to a total of 74,678 visitors, fair officials reported.

Paid attendance reached 48,963, which was 10 percent greater than last year’s attendance numbers, the release stated. The 124th version of the fair offered an array of promotions that allowed visitors to walk through the gates without paying, county fair officials said in a news release.

“Admission discounts aren’t enough to attract fairgoers and keep them coming back,” CEO Tom Musser said in the release. “This fair packed a lot of entertainment value into it for the price of admission. People saw that, and many told us they came for repeat visits.”

Attractions included an opening day fireworks show, hundreds of agriculture exhibits, a daily parade of 35 antique tractors and the Merced High School Marching 100 Band, animal races, live music and a slew of other events.

New to the fair this year was the Fair Awareness Campaign to Teach program, which featured 22 high school and college-age students who answered questions about animal agriculture. A group of Atwater High School Future Farmers of America members came up with the idea, which was adopted by The Friends of the Merced County Fair.

A promotional effort with the Merced County Food Bank collected 1,112 pounds for the food pantry, the release stated. Every person who donated two or more cans of food got free admission to an auto race on opening night.

Still another promotion, which was headed up by Merced County’s The Bus, gave 307 free round-trip rides to passengers headed to the fair.

During the Junior Livestock Auction, 4-H and FFA members sold 757 large animals, which went for a total of $670,090. The average bid per pound was $5.68, a slight increase from last year’s average of $5.44, officials said.

Allyson Sousa, 18, of Hilmar FFA, and her brother, Joshua, 13, of Hilmar Colony 4-H, have donated $9,300 they raised to the American Cancer Society and to families battling cancer in their communities in the past four years. Every year they donate a portion of their proceeds from the sale of their steer and heifer projects.

The 125th installment of the Merced County Fair is set for June 8 to 12, 2016. For more, go to www.mercedcountyfair.com.

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Merced County Fair attendance up from last year."