Wolfe Talks About Concert Highlights, Cancellations at 2017 Fair

Missouri State Fair Director Mark Wolfe visited the KSIS studio on Thursday and talked about the 2017 Missouri State Fair, which ended Sunday.

“We are in mass clean-up mode over at the state fairgrounds the next couple of weeks. We came out of a really good fair, and we really couldn't ask for the first five days to be any better as far as weather. We are still working on attendance numbers, but it looks like, based on what we have in hand right now, that our opening Saturday may set a record for single-day attendance,” Wolfe said of the 115th annual event.

“I can tell you that our rough number's going to be about 10,000 more than last year on that opening Saturday. We had a huge day at the Fair, we had a great concert that night with Alan Jackson sold out. Then we rolled into the middle of the week, had a great concert set to go on Wednesday night, and Mother Nature, as often is the case in Missouri, decided to step in and upset the apple cart. We ended up not having the concert that night just based on National Weather Service information we had. We're very fortunate at the Missouri State Fair, we have a meteorologist on site every day. He sets up in our zone office, and at concert time in the evening, we move him over under the stage so we can make decisions moment to moment.

"And on our end, public safety is first. There's nothing we dislike more than cancelling a concert. But we're certainly not going to put anyone at risk. And that includes not only the fairgoers, but our folks who have to put on rigging gear, and climb that thing and get tops down and do things like that to secure the facility. So based on information we had that night, we opted to go the safest route, and that was not to do the concert, so we are refunding folks' tickets. We paid the band, sent them on down the road, and we'll be talking to the insurance company,” Wolfe said. “It's one of those things you have to do sometimes.”

Wolfe said that the Little Big Town wasn't quite a sellout, “we were we right at 10,000 tickets sold.” (11,089 is considered a sellout). “We were real pleased with that.”

Wolfe wasn't sure if the 2017 Fair was one for the record books, but he noted that “we made enough money to do it again next year.”

The Missouri State Fair wants your feedback on the 2017 Fair. Here is the link to take the survey.