Tulsa State Fair a Success
HAPPY OFFICIALS: Tulsa State Fair President Denny Tuttle, left, and County Commissioner Randi Miller were happy with the outcome of this year’s fair.
This year, the Tulsa State Fair was one of the most successful of recent years, despite the rain that damped the final weekend. Attendance was up 3 percent with 935,220 people passing through the fair turnstiles.
Advance gate and midway sales were down slightly to $493,000, a 1 percent drop, but gates sales made up the difference, showing a 3 percent increase over 2003. Food and beverage sales were also up 3 percent. The most popular fair fare was the Oklahoma Pork Council’s pork chop sandwiches, the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s ribeye steak sandwiches, and Ranch House Meats’ turkey legs. The top new foods were the toasted ravioli and fried cheesecake.
Commercial exhibit space sold out and more than 670 exhibitors set up shop at the fairgrounds.
The creative arts and livestock competitions both showed an increase over 2003. The creative arts competitions had more than 4,000 entries, while the livestock competitions had more than 15,000 entries. The Junior Livestock Auction, which rewards the top 4-H and FFA animals, was up $20,000 to a total of $351,000.
Paid entertainment options, including Disney on Ice, the rodeo, and the PBR Bull Riding competition had mixed results. Disney on Ice and PBR ticket sales were both down compared to last year, while rodeo ticket sales were up 50 percent.
Updated 11-08-2004
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