COLUMBUS, Ind. — When it comes to comparing attendance and revenue for the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, context is everything.
And while there weren’t any records set, this year’s fair turned out to be very successful, fair board members said.
About 100,000 fair-goers showed up for the nine-day event from June 24 through July 2, fair board president Rick Trimpe said. If you compare that with how many came in 2021, the number of patrons was down by about 10,000.
But the 110,000 who attended the fair last year was unusually large, board treasurer Janet Clouse said.
Many patrons had been in isolation for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But after getting vaccinated, a large number of local residents wanted to feel a return to normalcy in 2021 by going to Bartholomew County’s most popular annual event, fair board members said.
In addition, mild and dry conditions prevailed during the 2021 fair, which also helped to boost the turnout even further, fair officials said.
So when this year’s figures are compared with the crowds in 2019, the nine-day event attracted 6,500 more patrons.
“The attendance was very good,” Clouse said.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
