Attendance at the 2023 Delaware State Fair jumped 3.16% from last year to 308,989, the fourth highest in the fair’s history.
With the theme “Farmlands and Fair Fans,” the 104th annual event lasted 10 days from July 20-29.
As usual, the weather played a part in attendance, with the highest numbers in the first few days when temperatures were in the lower 80s, while the finals days were in the 90s with some thunderstorms.
The best daily attendance was about 46,000 on Saturday, July 22, said Danny Aguilar, assistant general manager and director of marketing.
Here is the attendance for the past 10 years including 2020 under COVID-19 restrictions:
2023 – 308,989
2022 – 299,511
2021 – 352,002
2020 – 97,750
2019 – 328,342
2018 – 291,708
2017 – 286,316
2016 – 257,037
2015 – 311,012
2014 – 281,796
The show goes on after storms
The fair’s emergency announcing system was used twice on July 25 and 29 to urge visitors to seek shelter in permanent buildings as thunderstorms approached.
