Du Quoin State Fair is finished for the year. Manager Josh Gross says the fair did well this year.
DU QUOIN (WSIL) - The Du Quoin State Fair is over, but people were at the fairgrounds cleaning and packing up.
Some are getting ready to head to their next location.
While others like Dawn Welch are going home before their next fair.
“We do state fairs all over, North Dakota, Missouri,� Welch says. “We've done the Georgia National Fair.�
Welch owns the Southwest Soda Saloon with her husband.
She says they did well at the Du Quoin State Fair.
“Average with the exception of the first weekend,� Welch says. “We were down a little bit. I think because of the heat. It was too hot. If I didn't have to be here, I don't think I would have been.�
Josh Gross is the Manager for Du Quoin State Fair.
He says this year was comparable to what they saw last year.
“Crowds were really big on the weekends, and they lagged behind a little bit on the weekdays,� Welch says. “But I will say, this year we had such favorable weather in the middle of the week.�
Gross said the nicer weather brought more people out.
Gross says events like the carnival will be returning, and people can expect more food vendors next year.
“With the success we had in the last two years we will have more food vendors come into play. At the craft fair we had the first weekend. We got good reviews on that,� Gross says.
He says both the craft fair and made in Illinois event will be back next year.
As far as the economic impact on the area, Gross says that's hard to measure right now. But he is adding up the numbers for the fair this week.
“The hotels in our immediate area were pretty much booked up,� Gross says.
Gross says some of the restaurants he talked with had seen more people within the 11 days the fair ran.
Gross says that the second Saturday of the fair, September 2nd, brought in $200,000 in ticket sales from the Carnival. He says that was the biggest day in his five years working with the state fair.Â
