With another edition of the Mississippi State Fair is now in the books, it looks like not as many people attracted to the annual event as in years past.
During a press conference held Tuesday as the fair wrapped up Monday night, Commissioner Andy Gipson informed members of the media that even though officials added an extra day for this year’s fair, overall attendance was slightly down. He pointed to higher ticket prices, overall inflation, and a youth curfew as factors in the dip.
“We look forward to the days that we can get back to some more normal pricing on everything for all of our food and products and all of the other things that are more expensive like the energy cost and so forth,” Gipson said. “But overall, it was a negligible impact here at the fair.”
The Mississippi State Fair, held at the state fairgrounds in Jackson since 1858, saw approximately 506,952 people pass through the gates between Oct. 3-14. That’s in comparison to 525,576 in 2023 as the challenge to return to pre-pandemic numbers proves difficult. In 2019, there was a record total attendance of 612,198.
Even with the three-percent drop in year-over-year attendance, Gipson expects the total economic impact to round out at around $31 million, in line with last year’s number.
Gipson also utilized the press conference to tout law enforcement’s joint patrol of this year’s fair. With members of the Jackson Police Department, Capitol Police Department, Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mississippi Highway Patrol active during all hours of operation, the fair had no serious incidents for the second year in a row.
“Overall, the experience was very positive for people, and again, it was safe,” Gipson added.
Gipson and the rest of his staff at the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will now turn their attention to the 2025 Dixie National Rodeo, the next major event to take place on the fairgrounds as initial details on event dates and entertainment lineups were announced earlier this week.
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