Weather, holiday boosts State Fair attendance

JACKSON — The Mississippi State Fair officially exceeded last year’s total visitors by more than 20,000 people, setting a new attendance record for the fall staple.

Billy Orr, executive director of the Fair Commission, tells The Clarion-Ledger at final count 694,221 people came to eat the food, see the sights and ride the rides at one of the state’s largest annual events. Last year brought out 673,098.

Organizers said the agreeable weather with the exception of shower’s last Wednesday evening was a large part of the success of the fair, which ran Oct. 5 through last Sunday.

Orr said another major help came from the fact that Oct. 10 was Columbus Day, and all the children were out of school.