Georgia National Fair sets attendance record

PERRY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Where there once were revelers holding corn dogs and candy apples, now stood work crews and trucks packing up what was left of the Georgia National Fair.

After ten record-breaking days in Middle Georgia, the Fair came to a close Sunday night amid an extravagant fireworks show.

Marketing Director for the Georgia National Fairgrounds, Stacy Campbell, said this was the first time in the Fair’s 26-year history that they exceeded 500,000 attendees.

501,628, to be exact.

“Basically, 11 days of perfect weather. It was beautiful, low humidity,” Campbell said, suggesting a few reasons why this year’s fair was so popular, “The free concerts also attributed to our success, they’ve grown in popularity over the years… so we added a fourth free concert this year.”

“Most people come to eat, but you really don’t need to spend a dime when you come in to be entertained for an entire day,” Campbell continued.

In addition to the record turnout, the Georgia National Fairgrounds also welcomed their 20 millionth guest to pass through the turnstiles. This includes every event held at the facility, not just those attending the fair. The lucky customer was awarded free season passes to next year’s events, among other prizes.

Even though the fair has only been over for less than a day, Campbell says her team is already looking ahead to 2016, “We’ll have a re-cap meeting within the next week or so while everything is fresh in our minds… the planning starts immediately.”