WILLMAR -- The weekend rains held off until the Kandiyohi County Fair was almost over Saturday night. The otherwise beautiful weather might have led to record attendance.
Misty weather caused the fair to end a little early and a little soggy, according to Fair Board President Rollie Boll.
Exhibitors were allowed to remove their displays, and the stage entertainment ended early. Rides shut down because of lightning in the area. The demolition derby finished about the same time the drawing was held at 9:30 p.m., Boll said.
Everything was pretty well shut down before major storms hit later, he said.
Attendance at the fair was high during its four-day run last week, Boll said. Final attendance figures aren't available yet.
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"It may have been a little bit off on Saturday night, but not much," Boll said. "Overall, we had records."
The number of exhibits was higher than last year, and livestock numbers were good, too, Boll said. "That brings people, too," he added.
Storms bearing down on the area may have kept the Saturday night attendance down a bit, but for the most part, the weather for the fair was very good, Boll said.
Attendance seems to fall when the thermometer rises, but that wasn't a problem this year. "It cooled down at nights," he said. "It was real comfortable."
The fair's wide variety of free entertainment draws a lot of people through the gates, Boll said.
"We got a lot of good comments about things like the lumberjack show," he said.
The All-American Lumberjack Show was one of a number of free shows fairgoers could enjoy.
"I think they give more opportunity for people to mingle around," Boll said.
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Political candidates increase booth rentals a bit during an election year.
"We want the candidates to have booths," he said. "We don't want them to walk around handing out materials." Occasionally, fair officials will have to stop someone trying to hand out campaign literature, he said, but they don't stop political candidates who are simply walking through the fair visiting with people.
For the most part, the fair ran smoothly this year, Boll said.
A 4-H member was trampled by his spooked heifer on Thursday morning and was taken to Rice Hospital. Other than that, there were no other major incidents, he said.
Work has already started on next year's fair. The contract with the midway operator has already been signed, Boll said. Other entertainment contracts will be signed this fall and next winter.
