Maryland State Fair President & GM Max Mosner and Chairman Grove Miller congratulate the winners of the Inaugural Children's Pony Races at the 2014 fair. (Photo by Jim McCue)
“It wasn’t our best, but it wasn’t our worst,” said GM Max Mosner of attendance at the 2014 Maryland State Fair, Timonium. Attendance dropped about 12 percent to 354,234, down from last year’s 406,902.
The Aug. 21-Sept. 1 event was plagued by an all too familiar story: weather. If it wasn’t too hot, it was raining. The fair was rained out on its opening Saturday, with another storm coming in on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. The 2011 and 2012 iterations had similar weather issues with attendance hovering around 300,000.
Total operating budget for the event is about $5.5-$6 million, with some funding from the state. Because of the fairground’s thoroughbred racetrack, the facility has received a premium grant from the state of $5.5 million over $5 years to run the operations for that section.
“Betting there has really kind of declined over the last 10-12 years and the state of Maryland has given some slot machine and casino money to the racing industry to try to breathe some new life into it,” said Mosner.
Deggeller Attractions' Super Nova provided an exciting backdrop for thoroughbred racing. (Photo by Jim McCue)
The racetrack is authorized to race 10 days each year, though this year it ran seven days during fair time. There was about a 4-percent decline in betting this year.
Deggeller Attractions has provided the carnival for Maryland State Fair since the 70s. The carnival’s declining revenues mirrored that of attendance for the fair, decreasing about 11.9 percent. GM Andy Deggeller agreed that weather took a toll this year.
“It’s been relatively mild all year and, as we approached Labor Day, it started to get warm, then during the Maryland State Fair it was just downright hot,” said Deggeller. “Couple that with rain — it just wasn’t conducive to crowds coming to the fair.”
He said that the carnival made up some ground on the closing day and that when people come out to the Maryland State Fair, they want to experience the rides, “but you can’t fight the weather.”
Deggeller Attractions introduced the Mind Bender roller coaster to the midway, as well as SDC’s Hang Ten. The company also separated Kiddie Land from the rest of the midway for the first time after seeing success at its other fairs.
Maizie Bem can't wait until she's old enough to ride the big rides from Deggeller Attractions at Maryland State Fair. In the meantime, she'll enjoy Kiddie Land and watch on the shoulders of her mother, Mary Bem. (Photo by Edie Bernier)
Though Kiddie Land has always been somewhat its own entity, Deggeller Attractions actually placed it on the opposite side of the exhibit hall, which drew more people through the exhibit hall and helped tie in the fair attractions with the carnival.
As a parent, Deggeller can understand why it’s popular to separate the children’s area from the rest of the midway.
“That way, the kids aren’t competing with teenagers to get on rides and there are less people running around,” said Deggeller, who added that there are more seating options and shaded areas in Kiddie Land for parents to use while watching their kids enjoy the rides.
“You get a longer length of stay out of your customers if you make it comfortable for them,” added Deggeller. “They’ll eat more and play more games.”
He is the third generation involved in the family business and, since his kids joined this year, “I guess you could say they’re already involved, too.”
Last year’s three paid concerts at Maryland State Fair — Carly Rae Jepsen, Fall Out Boy, and Three Days Grace — did not draw well. This year, Mosner said the fair updated its strategy. The concert budget for the 2013 fairs was about $600,000.
“We were toying with the idea of not doing any concerts this year or taking a different approach, so we decided to take a more moderate approach,” said Mosner.
The event spent about $250,000 to bring in Grand Funk Railroad, 38 Special, and Phil Vassar.
“We didn’t sell any tickets to speak of,” said Mosner, who said that the only good news was that the budget was reduced by more than half. For next year, Mosner said the fair will have to again have the conversation about whether or not to have paid concerts at all.
The fair welcomed some big babies in its Birthing Center. (Photo by Edie Bernier)
Maryland State Fair’s 2010 Justin Bieber performance in the racetrack’s infield drew a capacity 12,500 crowd.
“If we get a Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez, we’re fine, but unless we go for the superstars we struggle,” said Mosner, who said he believes that the fair’s concert series suffers because of the many venues in the area that offer high-quality entertainment.
The fair does offer free concerts in a park area that can accommodate about 600-800 people. The popular draw features programming that takes an investment of only about $20,000-$25,000 and highlights local acts.
Maryland State Fair launched a new website before the 2014 fair that improved ease of navigation, laying out information in a more concise manner and incorporating the event’s social media pages.
Next year’s fair will run Aug. 28-Sept. 7.
Interviewed for this story: Andy Deggeller, (772) 215-2227; Max Mosner, (410) 252-0200