Iowa State Fair CEO on record attendance as cleanup proceeds

DES MOINES, Iowa — It was a very calm Monday on the Iowa State Fairgrounds, as the tear-down was underway after a record amount of visitors attended this year.

According to fair officials, 1,182,682 people visited the fair in 2024, breaking the previous attendance record of 1,170,375 visitors set in 2019.

“When you combine great programming, all the food, entertainment agriculture livestock all the things we provide at the fair, and then you add perfect weather obviously record attendance is probably going to follow and that’s exactly what happened this year,” said Jeremy Parsons, CEO of the Iowa State Fair.

Parsons said the higher numbers would mean more revenue to the bottom line for the Fair.

“This year more than ever also, as we kinda expanded the fair out, whether it was all the new food and entertainment and shade and picnic tables down in the Jacobson’s corner down in the southwest corner, or the new Bubbly Bar and Wine Experience and Farmers Market clear to the east. We’re just trying to spread people out,” said Parsons. “No one wants to come to the fair and kind of shoulder to shoulder with people and obviously on some of our days that occurred, but we’re going continue to keep people spread out, so everybody feels comfortable when they’re here at the fair.”

At Betty’s Footlongs, the teardown was going on, for this third-generation family business from Des Moines. The business has celebrated its 50th season this year.

“That first weekend was wonderful. The weather was perfect and we sell chili and you’d rather have a cup of chili or a foot-long with chili on it when it’s 80° versus when it’s 98°,” said Missy Berg, of Betty’s Footlongs, “A couple days, Saturday was definitely busy. We had lines all day. It was incredible.”

According to the State Fair, some 70 exhibitors showed over 700 vegetables this year, still, there was something missing.

“The biggest hit was on tomatoes because they just didn’t ripen so we had far less tomatoes and what we normally do,” said  Rhonda Magnusson, Supt. in the Agriculture Building. “We had all the rain and then we had cool weather, and hot weather, and they came out the wrong time and so therefore the tomatoes are just now starting to ripen.”

Parsons said in his second year leading the State Fair, he’s realized that people have a passion for the State Fair. Planning 2025 is underway, and the theme for next year will be announced in September.

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