Lewisburg, WV (WOAY) – West Virginia’s largest end-of-summer event has ended as the State Fair wrapped on Saturday, August 20, with over 170,000 attendants. The State Fair CEO, Kelly Collins, states that despite the weather, they had one of the most successful fairs they’ve ever had because of the event’s community and economic impact.
Notable numbers include First Energy’s Magic Monday raising over 1,600 pounds of food raised which was split between five different food pantries. Additionally, the Fair hosted its inaugural Big Wheel Bash as a fundraiser for endowment and scholarship funds, raising over $20,000. As a result, students earn $20,000 scholarships from West Virginia each year to attend accredited schools and trade programs.
The West Virginia building displayed 7,500 home, arts, and garden exhibits from over 700 exhibitors. Over 350 open livestock exhibitors participated, with 370 junior 4-H and FFA livestock exhibitors showing animals. Additionally, the Underwood Youth center displayed over 4,500 4-H and FFA exhibits with nonlivestock.
Civic organizations and school programs earned $36,000 during the Fair for their services. For example, Greenbrier East Music Boosters parked cars on the fairgrounds, and Eastern Greenbrier Middle School led trash pickup. Additionally, James Monroe FFA tended the Rabbit barn while Shriners oversaw concert beer sales.
The State Fair hired over 210 part-time employees for the 10-day event. This number does not include part-time help for the food vendors, the carnival, and other concessionaires. Payroll for the 10-day Fair topped $250,000.
Fairgoers’ food spending grossed over $3.5 million, averaging over $20 per person. Reithoffer Shows, the Fair’s carnival provider, set an all-time Fair record for carnival ride gross sales at the State Fair of WV, with a final figure of just under $1.2 million.
The Grandstand attracted over 29,000 fairgoers to eight shows throughout the week, with an overall Fair attendance totaling over 170,000. In addition, the State Fair earned 13M Social Media impressions and 732,566 User engagements globally.
The State Fair of West Virginia is a 501c3 Non-Profit and pays over $75,000 in property taxes yearly. Additionally, SFWV collects over $120,000 in sales tax each year (the figure does not include a tax on food or carnival sales collected by individual vendors or businesses).
The 98th Annual State Fair is set for August 10-19, 2023. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Join the conversation by using #sfwv!
