Shrimp corndog on a stick was voted the top fair food by the fair board at this year's Iowa State Fair, Des Moines.
Attendance at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, might be slightly down from last year’s but when all the numbers are tabulated, it actually might be on par, said GM Gary Slater.
Last year’s official figure was 1,097,142, but after the number was audited, it really was more like 1,050,000, Slater said. That would put the attendance on par with this year’s fair, which took place Aug. 8-18.
“When we sell advance tickets, we don’t know how many we sold until after the fair,” Slater said. “Last year, obviously, we overestimated somewhat. We tried to be more conservative in that number this year so we don’t have to downsize attendance.”
Other revenue streams, however, indicate that this year’s fair was more successful financially.
“Food and beverage revenues and merchandise revenues were very good, and we parked more cars every day than last year,” Slater said. “Most vendors had a perfect fair.”
The combined food and beverage sales were up 15-17 percent, Slater said, and merchandise sales were up 15 percent.
One day, the cars-parked figure was up 100, and on the last Saturday, it was up by almost 1,000, Slater added. The parking fee was $10.
The weather also was on the fair’s side, with daytime temperatures about 82 degrees, lowering to the high 60s in the evening.
“The weather was perfect so more people stayed longer. That’s why more revenues were up. People stayed longer, so maybe they didn’t eat just one meal, they ate two meals. The more time you have to walk past booth spaces, maybe you’ll see something valuable and buy it. Heck, I bought a ladder and I already had one.”
One factor that might be cutting into attendance, however, is that school has been going back in session earlier every year, Slater said.
Deltona, Fla.-based Belle City Amusements placed 41 rides on the midway, including a new Moonraker that did well, Slater said, adding that it was the carnival’s fourth year of providing the midway after buying out the contracts of the former provider, Mighty Blue Grass Shows.
Pay-one-price wristbands cost $25 on-site and fairgoers could use them from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. If they bought a presale armband it cost $25 on weekdays and $30 on weekends, but could be used during the entire duration of the fair for that day, said owner Charles Panacek.
The carnival was up in all revenues – ride gross, food and games, Panacek said.
“Considering attendance was even or down from some years, I wouldn’t say spending was considerably up, but it was up by a decent margin,” he added.
Concerts took place in the 10,500-seat Iowa State Fair Grandstand. The concert series, sponsored by U.S. Cellular, did not have any sellouts, but Alan Jackson with Gary Allan did well at 9,628, as did Toby Keith with Kip Moore with 9,417.
Other concerts and capacity figures were: Casting Crowns with Jeremy Camp, 6,904; Happy Together Tour 2013, 3,798; former “Saturday Night Live” comedians Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller and Kevin Nealon, 3,577; Dierks Bentley with Justin Moore, 8,201; auto racing, 2,692; Victoria Justice with Pentatonix, 3,065; tractor and truck pull, 6,479; Train with Matt Nathanson, 6,812; Figure 8 & Demolition Derby, 3,881; and Carly Rae Jepsen and The Wanted, 3,848.
Artist and car show guarantees plus racing purses cost $1,912,000, Slater said. The overall fair budget was in line with last year’s $18 million.
Gate admission cost $11, $1 more than last year, or $8 in advance.
“We hadn’t raised the price since 2007,” Slater said.
The fair also offered a discounted gate for $6 after 5 p.m. on weekdays and on the last day of the event.
Slater did not have a gate revenue figure yet but expected to be up over last year, mostly because of the $1 increase in the ticket price.
For the third year in a row, fairgoers could print out their own bar-coded ticket on their home printer.
“Our print-at-home feature is used more and more,” he said. “I think people are getting comfortable with that.”
The marketing budget was $500,000 in direct ad buys for print, TV, radio and outdoor billboards, Slater said. The fair really has not cut back on print media and, in fact, after the Nebraska State Fair moved from Lincoln to Grand Island, the Iowa State Fair began advertising in the Omaha market.
“That’s been good for us,” he said. “Surveys tell us we’re getting a good return on our investment by marketing in the Omaha area. People from there are coming to the Iowa State Fair.”
The fair also utilized Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to hold contests, make announcements and ask fairgoers questions, such as their favorite fair food.
“Social media doesn’t cost anything but, to work it effectively, you have to devote your staff’s time to that and we’ve done all of that,” Slater said. “I think it’s very effective.”
Also in marketing, the fair began a new fair food contest in July prior to opening.
“The fair board was the judge,” Slater said. “It’s not that they’re real scientific. They decided the No. 1 fair food was a shrimp corndog, which was a shrimp on a stick dipped in corndog batter with deep-fried jalapeno sauce on it.”
That item, along with the two runners-up, a strawberry smoothie on a stick and a bacon-wrapped boneless pork riblet, were sold at the fair. A poll conducted during the fair proved the fair board right, with the shrimp corndog also taking top honors among the public.
“That drew lots of attention from the local media, so we think it was very effective,” Slater said. “The lines were very long at those booths. You have to do that so you can get the hype.”
Next year’s dates will be Aug. 7-17.
Interviewed for this article: Gary Slater, (515) 262-3111, Charles Panacek, (407) 399-1831.