October 4, 2010                                     For more information contact:

For Immediate Release                            Greg Stewart @ 248-7160

FANTASTIC WEATHER AND BIG WEEKEND SET UP A FANTASTIC FAIR FINISH

Ten days filled with great weather, non-stop entertainment, fantastic foods and ten acres of amusement rides and games culminated Sunday night with one of the best Central Washington State Fairs in recent memories. On the final Saturday a huge crowd of nearly 47,000 people attended the fair, followed by another 40,947 on Sunday. When it was all said and done some 312,149 people attended the annual event in Yakima and fair officials were more than pleased.

“We couldn’t have asked for better weather,” said Fair president and general manager Greg Stewart. “We had a great Fair and people really came out to enjoy it. Our fair is about families and friends and making memories and this one will go down as one of the best.”

Last years fair attendance was hampered on the opening Saturday by a power outage caused by the fire at the old Boise Cascade mill site. Cool, windy weather the final weekend also hurt attendance at the fair. Last year’s attendance was 298,941.

Among a variety of food, entertainment and exhibits, one of the new big attractions that drew big crowds this year was “Get Animated.” The exhibit took up the entire Pioneer Hall building and drew thousands and thousands of visitors over the 10 days to meet some stars of the animated world and view the history of animation.

The other big draw again this year was the entertainment at the Budweiser Stage and the Coca-Cola Grandstand.

On opening weekend of the Fair good crowds showed up to see rock band The Guess Who and the comedy team of Williams & Ree.

The Fair again beefed up mid-week entertainment and featured comedian Bill Engvall, country singer Clay Walker, and the band Collective Soul. On the final weekend Bucky Covington performed as did Latino stars Yesenia Flores, Chelo and El Puma de Sinaloa. Large crowds also took in two days of the Pro West Finals rodeo at the Grandstand on the last Friday and Saturday, and the Impact Directories Demolition Derby on the final Sunday.

Other entertainment at this year’s Fair included 70’s band Pablo Cruise on the final Friday of the Fair along with two nights of sprint car races and a Mexican music festival on the opening weekend.

Of course there was also plenty to eat at this year’s Fair. Always one of the main attractions of the fair, the food again attracted big crowds to the 60-some food booths serving everything from corn dogs and barbecued sandwiches to deep fried Oreos and gyros.

Stewart said the dates for next year’s version of the annual fair will be September 23 through October 2, 2011. He said fair management and staff are already making plans for next year’s event.

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