On the first Saturday of the Iowa State Fair, officials closed all of the parking lots at the Fairgrounds by 1 p.m. For the first time ever, the lots were full.
On the second Saturday of the fair, the same thing happened, with the parking lots closing at 2 p.m. And it showed in the number of people who attended the fair on Saturday. Long lines awaited fairgoers whether taking a shuttle to the fair, trying to grab a beer at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent, attempting to buy one of the three best new dishes at the fair, or trying to order Peachey's doughnuts or Barksdale chocolate chip cookies. Long lines awaited everywhere.
How many people attended the Iowa State Fair on Day 10?
A total of 126,142 people went to the 10th day of the Iowa State Fair on Saturday, the second-highest single-day total in 2024.
Last weekend's Day 3 total of 128,732 set the all-time single-day attendance record. The Aug. 17 number was a little more than 2,500 people short of breaking that record.
How does attendance at the 2024 Iowa State Fair compare to 2023?
Attendance in 2024 was up significantly from 2023 when 112,732 people attended the 10th day of the Fair. Saturday's near-record number puts this year's fair on pace to surpass last year's second-best totals. This year's Iowa State Fair has a chance to break the all-time record of 1,170,375 visitors in 2019, needing a little more than 88,000 guests on Sunday to set the new mark.
- Day: 2024 (2023)
- Thursday: 90,822 (87,380)
- Friday: 109,854 (101,177)
- Saturday: 128,732 (118,286)
- Sunday: 115,048 (114,937)
- Monday: 92,920 (100,214)
- Tuesday: 105,384 (101,244)
- Wednesday: 99,281 (98,751)
- Thursday: 102,510 (101,475)
- Friday: 111,591 (112,048)
- Saturday: 126,142 (112,732)
- Sunday: (85,714)
- Total: (1,133,938)
How many people attended Ne-Yo concert at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand?
Ne-Yo brought out 7,993 people for the last night of Fair concerts on Saturday evening.
Here's the attendance from the other Grandstand acts this year:
- Lauren Daigle: 9,726
- Foreigner: 11,141
- Jelly Roll: 16,001
- Greta Van Fleet: 9,075
- Brett Young: 4,887
- Thomas Rhett: 12,475
- Mötley Crüe : 11,681
- Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias: 9,312
- The Avett Brothers: 5,068
- Ne-Yo: 7,993
What were the big moments at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday?
On Saturday night, Choose Iowa, the relatively new program from the state's department of agriculture that promotes food, beverages and other agricultural products that are grown, raised or made within Iowa, threw the Farm to Fair dinner with Grant Gillon, who won Season 13 of "MasterChef," Aaron Holt, owner and operator of Catering by Doolittle Farm in Story City, and Jacob Schroeder of Moxie Kitchen + Events in Des Moines.
Iowa State Fair attendance: 15 biggest fairs
- 2019: 1,170,375
- 2023: 1,133,938
- 2018: 1,130,260
- 2017: 1,130,071
- 2022: 1,118,763
- 2015 : 1,117,398
- 2008: 1,109,150
- 2012: 1,097,142
- 2021: 1,094,480
- 2011: 1,080,959
- 2004: 1,053,978
- 2013: 1,047,246
- 2016: 1,031,278
- 2014: 1,015,902
- 2006: 1,013,557
- 2003: 1,012,309
Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at vreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter @VictoriaReynaR .
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Favorable weather brings large crowds to Day 10 of the Iowa State Fair, attendance record nears
Local Iowa State
Most Popular
Comments / 0