Fair numbers down all the way around

The Daily Inter Lake

Rodeo attendance was only bright spot

Attendance at the Northwest Montana Fair and most of the fair's main attractions was down this year.

Fair manager Jay Scott said he can't put his finger on the reason for thinner crowds.

"The fair was up in [number of] exhibits, but we just didn't have the people we usually have," Scott said.

It rained during the morning Aug. 18, the day children and senior citizens are admitted free, but attendance of children and seniors isn't figured into the overall attendance numbers. Weather was sunny and warm during the rest of the fair.

Ticketed fair attendance was 59,758, down from 63,124 last year, according to preliminary totals.

The Christian concert featuring The Fox Brothers charted the most dismal attendance, with just 384 people.

"This year we tried a Christian group that was not known in this area," Scott said. "It was a good show, but attendance was poor."

Last year, the Christian night show that featured Rebecca St. James attracted a crowd of 1,309.

Attendance plummeted at the country music concert, too, with 1,292 spectators for Tracy Byrd. Last year, Diamond Rio drew 2,641 people, and attendance for the Charlie Daniels Band was 2,741 in 2003.

The demolition derby also took a hit, with about 1,200 fewer spectators this year. Attendance was 2,549, compared to 3,723 last year.

The gross revenue from the carnival suffered as well. The carnival took in $255,318, compared to $264,788 in 2004 and $273,863 in 2003. The amount of money the fair earned from the carnival was $84,026 this year, compared to $87,008 last year.

Rodeo attendance was the only bright spot this year. Attendance during three nights was 13,551, compared to 12,444 last year.

Horse racing didn't draw the crowds anticipated in light of statewide discussion about consolidating horse racing in Billings.

The pari-mutuel betting handle for the first three days of racing was down, coming in at $129,385 for 24 races. That compares to $150,386 last year.

Betting handles were down each day. On Friday, the total was $26,307, compared to $29,629 in 2004. Saturday's total was $60,105, compared to $70,164 last year; and Sunday's handle was $42,973, compared to $50,593 last year.