LEWISBURG, WV (WVDN) – Summer’s largest end of summer party has come to an end as the State Fair of West Virginia wrapped up on Saturday, Aug. 20, with over 170,000 people attending.
“Despite a few days of heavy rain, we ended up having one of the best fairs we’ve ever had,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins stated. “The number of people that came through the gates aside, the true success can be seen in the community and economic impact of this event.”
Some of the most notable numbers include:
• Over 1,600 pounds of food raised during First Energy’s Magic Monday, which was split between five different food pantries.
• The State Fair also hosted its inaugural Big Wheel Bash as a fundraiser for the endowment and scholarship funds and raised over $20,000. Each year, $20,000 is given to scholarships for students from West Virginia to attend accredited schools or trade programs.
Exhibitor Participation
• 7,500 home, arts and garden exhibits were displayed in the WV Building, from over 700 exhibitors.
• Over 350 open livestock exhibitors participated.
• Over 370 junior 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors showed animals, while over 4,500 4-H and FFA exhibits (non-livestock) were on display in the Underwood Youth Center.
Giving Back
• $36,000 paid to civic organizations and/or school programs for services during fair. Some programs and services include:
o Greenbrier East Music Boosters – parking cars
o Eastern Greenbrier Middle School – trash pickup
o James Monroe FFA – Rabbit Barn attendants
o Shriners – Concert beer sales
Employment
• The State Fair hired over 210 part-time employees for the 10-day event. This number does not include part-time help for the food vendors, the carnival, and other concessionaires.
• Payroll for the 10 days will top $250,000.
Fairgoer Spending
• Fairgoer spending on food grossed over $3.5 million, which is an average of over $20 per person.
• Reithoffer Shows, the fair’s carnival provider, set an all-time fair record for carnival ride gross sales at the State Fair of West Virginia with a final figure of just under $1.2 million.
Attendance
• The Grandstand attracted over 29,000 fairgoers to eight different shows throughout the week
• Overall Fair attendance totaled over 170,000.
User Engagement
• 13 million social media impressions
• 732,566 user engagements
• Global audience
Other facts and figures
• The State Fair of West Virginia is a 501c3 Non-Profit
• The State Fair of West Virginia pays over $75,000 in property taxes each year
• The State Fair of West Virginia collects over $120,000 in sales tax each year (figure does not include tax on food or carnival sales which is collected by individual vendors or businesses).
“Outside of the number of fairgoers coming through the gates, it is important for us to look at the entire picture to judge the true success of the fair,” Collins stated. “State fairs were started to tell the story of agriculture, but to also spur commerce in the local community – two missions we still hold true.”
The 98th Annual State Fair is set for Aug. 10-19, 2023.
