The Southeast State Fair concluded last Sunday, allowing fair staff and volunteers to breathe a collective sigh of relief and take a much-needed break.
The preparations were like any other year, requiring a lot of resources and manpower to make the magic happen.
“I think it was pretty solid,” said fair director Amanda Randles. “The weather cooperated, there was fantastic food and great music.”
It is too early to determine how much money the fair made and whether or not they broke even. However, Randles said the “general feel is that we are probably up from last year, but not up to 2018 , which was the biggest year pre-COVID.”
The total number of paying guests that went through the gates over the four days of the fair was 6,549, which does not account for the individuals who purchased 4 day passes. Saturday had the highest number of guests, at 2,293. The numbers do not account for volunteers, entertainers, staff, and vendors. “But based on other years, that would add an additional 400 or so daily,” said Randles in an email.
One of the most anticipated events of the fair was the drag show, which was shrouded in controversy, with some claiming that the act was inherently inappropriate and not family friendly. This tension caused some concerns over the possibility of conflict during the show, but Randles said the show was “smooth as silk.” Juneau Drag reportedly had a wonderful time, and were awed by the positive energy of the crowd.
“I did receive one solitary complaint after it happened,” said Randles.
The sound systems for all three stages worked really well this year, and there really were no major issues. “We had a lot of bumps along the way, but no big horrible bumps.” Some of the small bumps experienced included misplaced tickets and lost pens.
Randles became interim executive director of the fair after Bev Kryder resigned from the controversy over Juneau Drag just one month into the job. She is not on contract, and the decision of whether or not she will stay on as director will be decided by the board in the fall.