Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul wrapped Sept. 2.
Considering the St. Paul heat wave that made national news during the Minnesota State Fair, attendance that dipped 3.2 percent – by only 57,350 patrons – to 1,731,162 compared to last year’s 1,788,512 was appreciated by officials, including GM Jerry Hammer.
On several days, temperatures reached the mid- to high-90s with high humidity, ironic in the usually cool city of St. Paul, where it was still snowing in May and where temperatures dipped into the 30s in late July, a few weeks before the start of the Aug. 22-Sept. 2 fair.
“I know none of us had ever seen a fair like this one for heat,” Hammer said.
Fair officials bought and placed 23 misters in 12 locations around the fairgrounds to help patrons keep cool.
“We plugged them in and turned them on and people were right there,” Hammer said.
Hammer and his staff also worked closely with the emergency and medical staff members that are always on hand during the fair. The number of patrons who had to be transported to a hospital did not go up at all although emergency personnel did have to help some fairgoers cool off.
“We were able to deal with it here,” Hammer said. “We were able to get them cooled down and back out to have more fun.”
The fair’s veterinarian did declare one day too hot for the horses to march in the daily parade.
Sixty-one rides were placed on the fair’s independent midway, 30 on the regular midway and 31 on the kidway, said deputy general manager, Jim Sinclair. Twenty-five companies or ride owners provided the rides.
The ride gross was down 9.8 percent, at $2,914,598 compared to last year’s $3,232,602, Sinclair said.
The game gross was only down 2.4 percent, at $2,227,755 compared to last year’s $2,333,857.
The top 10 rides and providers were: Crazy Mouse spinning roller coaster, S.J. Entertainment; Sky Flyer, Reithoffer; Rip Tide roller coaster, Deggeller Attractions; Puppy Express roller coaster, Prime Pacific Enterprises, Techno Power and Starship 3000, Wood Entertainment Co.; Gondola Wheel, Playworld Unlimited; Air Raid, KB Concessions; Raiders, Rose’s Rides; and Fun Factory, McDonagh’s Amusements.
New rides included the Rip Tide and Puppy Express roller coasters, the Sky Flyer and Air Raid, as well as the Big Bamboo Fun House, also provided by McDonagh’s Amusements.
The fair does not offer pay-one-price wristbands, Sinclair said.
“Instead, we discount the number of tickets on rides and games during promotion periods.”
An urban farming exhibit, complete with solar panel, at Minnesota State Fair.
The 13,000-plus- seat Minnesota State Fair grandstand had two sellouts, Tim McGraw and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The latter show actually had a capacity of 16,380 because seats that fair officials usually place on the ground in front of the stage were removed so more people could stand.
Other acts that did well were Train, Depeche Mode, the Happy Together Tour 2013, and Sheryl Crow.
“Sammy Hagar wasn’t bad either.”
The fair also hosted the 2013 Cat Internet Video Festival Presented by the Walker Art Center, an event that debuted at the Walker Art Center last year. This year the show attracted a crowd of 10,000, Hammer said.
Other acts included former “Saturday Night Live” comedians Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon and Dennis Miller, who also played the Iowa State Fair; the Under the Sun Tour featuring Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray & the Gin Blossoms; and a regional presentation of Minnesota bands called MN Music-On-A-Stick.
Tickets ranged from $71 and $56 for McGraw and $60 and $70 for Depeche Mode, to $10 for the cat video festival. Macklemore tickets cost $20 and $30.
The fair spent just under $3 million on artist guarantees, with fair officials generally spending what it takes to try to get the best concerts out at the time to the fair.
“We don’t have an entertainment budget,” Hammer said.
Gate admission cost $12 for ages 13 to 64, and $10 for 65 and older and 5 to 12. The advance admission was $9 for all ages. The gate price has been the same for three years.
Hammer did not have gate revenues yet but expects them to be off from last year because of the slight decrease in attendance.
However, some spending figures might go up. Per capita spending last year for food and beverages was $16.64 excluding beer. This year, that figure was $15.61. Because of the heat, beer sold well, so when Hammer gets those figures, the 2013 per capita numbers might go up.
The overall fair budget was $40.5 million with an expense budget of $39.8 million, Hammer said. Last year’s revenue was $42.1 million with expenses of $39.7 million.
“Now we pay the bills,” Hammer said.
The fair’s marketing budget was $1.3 million, with $985,000 devoted to advertising buys. In social media, the fair added Pinterest and in fact had 11 boards geared to different groups.
For instance, said Christine Noonan, marketing and communications specialist, mothers had expressed concerns about navigating the fairgrounds with strollers, so one Pinterest board called Little Tykes was devoted to them that listed, among other items, places where people could refill water bottles and rent a stroller wagon.
“It listed things to do with young kids at the fair and gave helpful tips on how to make the most of the experience with little kids,” Noonan said.
The page also suggested for parents with a tradition of coming to the fair to take the child or children to the same location or landmark each year to snap photos that will show the kids through the years.
“Another board was for early risers,” Noonan said. “The fair opens at 6 a.m. but most of the buildings do not open until 9, so there was a list of restaurants open before 9, self-guided tours that they could do on their own. Early morning is a great time to do that. You can beat the crowd.”
Next year’s dates are Aug. 21-Sept. 1.
Interviewed for this article: Jerry Hammer, Jim Sinclair, Christine Noonan, (651) 288-4400