DEL MAR, CA (July 5, 2010, 10:45 p.m.) — The San Diego County Fair wrapped up the 22-day event with an all-time attendance record of 1,338,500 guests who enjoyed the “Taste the Fun” theme, attractions, shows, exhibits, food and rides. The previous attendance record was 1,274,442, set in 2009.
The Fair also set a record for highest average daily attendance at 60,841. The previous record was 58,843, set in 2008 when the Fair was 21 days.
The largest one-day attendance during the 2010 Fair was on Sunday, July 4, 2010 with 82,984 guests. The largest single-day attendance ever was Friday, July 3, 1998, with 101,867.
“We want to thank the people of San Diego County for their support and attendance at the 2010 San Diego County Fair. This is their Fair and their Fairgrounds,” said Tim Fennell, CEO and General Manager of the Del Mar Fairgrounds. “We are pleased to say we broke our attendance and revenue records for the second year in a row, making Fair history during a very difficult economy. During these challenging times, we were particularly proud to present a Fair that provided great entertainment and value for our guests. The Fair is really about people, people having fun, people being entertained, people being educated and people making memories that will be remembered for many years to come. Thanks again to all who came to “Taste the Fun,” we could not have done it without you.”
The San Diego County Fair is the sixth largest fair in the nation and is the largest annual event in San Diego County. Final revenue and numbers will be available in about one week, and those figures will be added to this news release on the Del Mar Fairgrounds website, www.sdfair.com.
Some preliminary numbers from the 2010 Fair:
Food Facts:
Food booths – 110
Commercial booths – 600
12,000 Fried Klondike Bars
10,000 Fried Twinkies
5,000 Fried Avocados
8,000 Fried S’mores
6,600 Fried Butters
The biggest day for food sales was Saturday, July 3, with $852,351.05 gross sales.
Chicken Charlie’s used almost 4,000 gallons of propane, a record!
Chicken Charlie used 20,000 pounds (10 tons) of flour.
Top 10 Food Vendors
Chicken Charlie II
Golden West BBQ
Brett's Juicy
Chicken Charlie I
Chuckwagon BBQ
Juicy's Outlaw
Australian Foods
Fruit Caboose (Avenue location)
Brander I (Donuts)
Jackson Enterprise
Fireworks America of Lakeside designed our Fourth of July Fireworks Show. The 20-minute display consisted of:
300 – 2-inch shells
430 – 3-inch shells
168 – 4-inch shells
116 – 5-inch shells
72 – 6-inch shells
22 – 8-inch shells
And 2,000 miniature shells.
Online and Social Media
Fair Web site, www.sdfair.com, June 1-July 5: 808,285 visits, up about 20 percent over same period in 2009.
Fair’s mobile-phone Web site, m.sdfair.com, June 1-July 5: 39,710 visits, up 172 percent over same period in 2009.
Social Media:
Facebook- 6,114 Friends
Twitter- 1,443 followers
YouTube- 12,976 views of Fair videos
Contests and Special Events
Number of pies consumed at the daily Pie Eating Contest: 198
Number of pieces of pie consumed at the Pie Eating Contest: 1,087
Number of participants in our Flag Raising program at daily Opening Ceremonies (Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts): 860
Number of scout troops that participated in the Flag Raising Program: 73
Number of Jalapeños consumed at the three Jalapeño Pepper Eating Contests: 600
Number of Jalapeño Peppers eaten by the winners of the three contests: 55, 50 and 49
Number of participants in the Jalapeño Pepper Eating Contests: 60
Number of contestants in the Best Kitchen Noise Contests: 57
Number of participants in the Fun with Phony Food contests: 92
Number of babies entered in the Baby Derby Contests: 35
Number of participants in Three O’Clock Fun: 917
Number of participants in our Family Look-Alike Contest: 56
Number of hours of entertainment booked on the eight stages (not including the Grandstand Stage): 2,000
Number of entertainment groups booked: 450
Number of entertainers on the various grounds stages: 21,864
Number of trips to the airport to transport entertainers: 54
Number of bands that participated in the Musicpalooza Contest: 200+ entered/12 chosen as finalists to perform in the first of three judging rounds
Number of singers that participated in the Musicpalooza Contest: 100+ entered/12 chosen as finalists to perform in the first of three judging rounds
Number of participants in the San Diego’s Best Dance Crew competitions: 36 dance crews
Number of participants in the A Cappella Contest: 12 teams
Number of zombies in the Michael Jackson Day Thriller dance: 270
Number of DJ’s in the DJ Mix-Off competition: 4 DJs from San Diego and Los Angeles
Number of National Anthem singers at Opening Ceremonies: 19
Number of participants in the Learn Magic program: 110
Number of kids that cried when they saw the costumed Mascot, Chef Del Mario: 90 (estimate)
Number of participants in the Heavenly Hat Contest (part of the Gospel Festival): 4
Number of participants in the Water Waiter Relays: 52
Number of participants in the Bubble Gum Blowing Contest: 113
The theme for the 2010 San Diego County Fair was “Taste the Fun,” which highlighted local agriculture, producers, culinary arts and all things related to food! The Fair ran for 22 days Friday, June 11 to Monday July 5; and was closed on three Mondays, June 14, 21 and 28.
