Gate receipts were up 4.7 percent and overall income increased 6 percent at the Southeast Alaska State Fair, executive director Jessica Edwards told members at the group’s annual meeting Aug. 29.
Exhibits were down slightly, Edwards said in an interview last week.
Edwards said there were “no obvious trends” in results from this year’s fair. Overall income includes revenues from vendors, beer gardens, rides, contests and merchandise.
The ferry schedule worked to the fair’s favor and disadvantage, she said. Morning dockings and evening departures helped bring people to town, but on Saturday, fairgoers dwindled after peaking at around 2 p.m., apparently to make the 5 p.m. evening sailing.
“It didn’t hurt attendance overall, but it’s definitely something to think about. A night departure might be better for people who want to spend the whole day,” Edwards said.
There wasn’t a “big return” in exhibits from a trip Edwards made through the Panhandle promoting the fair, but the trip did net an upswing in outfits for the fair’s wearable art event from Ketchikan and Sitka.
Changes on the fairgrounds during the coming year will include adding two more food vendor booths. “We have more inquiries than we can accommodate,” Edwards said. The fair also will replace the fence at Raven Arena with help from the local hockey group and remove rotting vendor booth posts on the west side of McPherson Barn.
Off-season work will include analysis of the fairgounds’ electrical grid. “We’re growing, and that’s taxing the circuits,” Edwards said.
“Bennett News,” one of the original Dalton City buildings that the fair demolished this year due to rot, will be replaced before the 2015 fair. Haines Brewing Co., a longtime renter at Dalton City, is expected to move out by spring, she said.
The fair hosted nine events at the fairgrounds during the past year. The grounds also saw seven rentals by local organizations and five rentals by private individuals, including for weddings.
Rentals are an important function for the fair, though not a huge income source, Edwards said, in part because of fair manpower required. “We want it to be there for the community, but it’s a challenge. Financially, it will be interesting to see how it will work out for us.”
Rentals this month include for a preschool fundraiser and a private fundraiser for a family’s medical bills. The annual Chamber of Commerce banquet will be held at Harriett Hall on Oct. 25.
At its annual meeting, Josh Benassi and Courtney Culbeck were elected to the fair’s seven-member board of directors. Eric Forster is board chair.