ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Although the weather threw a small hiccup into things briefly Saturday, it was a great start to the Kansas State Fair overall, according to manager Bryan Schulz. Schulz said they didn't have attendance numbers from the first weekend yet on Monday morning, but they were very busy.
One barometer for the fair's success is the carnival take. Friday's carnival took in $82,000. Rain on Saturday limited the ridership to $143,000, but a pretty Sunday helped the crowds come back out and flood the fairgrounds and the carnival took in $223,000.
Another highlight of Sunday was the Grandstand comedy show from Gabriel Iglesias. Fluffy was a near sell out as over 6,000 people attended that concert.
"The people absolutely loved it," Schulz said. "He kept them going until, it was almost 10:30 p.m. Then he came down and signed autographs. People were bringing chocolate cakes for him. It was just amazing."
Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper said they had very few problems over the weekend, just a few traffic matters and one incident that was fair related but was not on the fairgrounds.
The Kansas Highway Patrol agreed that it was okay. They had ten medical matters to take care of, but none were significant.