Marin County Fair reports attendance decline in hot week
More than 77,800 people attended the Marin County Fair, a 16% drop in attendance compared to last year’s event, according to organizers.
The five-day fair, which ended Sunday, happened to be held during the same week when a heat wave baked the region. During the opening day, the temperature in San Rafael was a record 100 degrees, the city’s highest recorded July 3 temperature since 2001, according to the National Weather Service.
“I think a lot of people headed to the beaches or stayed inside their air conditioned houses rather than venture out to the fair,” said fair director Gabriella Calicchio, head of the Marin County Department of Cultural Services. “But really, being 16% down in total attendance is not a big deal considering how much of a heat wave we experienced.”
About 68,900 tickets were sold, a 14% decrease from 2023, Calicchio said. Fair tickets sold for $20 in June and $25 during the fair. The fair’s total revenue was $1.7 million, while last year’s fair grossed $1.9 million.
Calicchio said attendance usually picked up in the evening and noted that a large crowd gathered to watch the Saturday night concert of Ziggy Marley, the eldest son of reggae legend Bob Marley. En Vogue and Los Lonely Boys also performed during the fair.
Sheila Groves-Tracey, who booked the fair’s main stage performers, recalled what she saw when Marley took the stage.
“He was electrifying and just very much embodied in the music — you could see it in the way he moved,” she said. “It was like seeing a human instrument in action.”
Groves-Tracey previously booked talent at famed North Bay venues such as New George’s in San Rafael, the Mystic Theatre in Petaluma and the Uptown Theatre in Napa.
“I always feel super honored to be a part of creating a memory for people,” she said.
Other Marin County Fair attractions included nightly fireworks shows, the pig races and the lounge for people with disabilities. The event also included the post-pandemic returns of the fair’s film festival and the Marin Bonsai Club’s showcase.
About 50 bonsai trees were displayed, including a 100-year-old Utah juniper maintained by a longtime club member. Club president Tung Dao said this was the first year since the pandemic when the organization could have an indoor display at the fair.
“We’ve been told that a lot of people have been missing the bonsai event,” he said.
The club meets twice a month at the Terra Linda Community Center and is open to visitors who want to learn how to grow the trees, Dao said.
“It’s really cool to express the feeling of seeing a tree that I’ve maybe seen when I was hiking on top of a mountain, and being able to share that with you, the viewer, through my artwork,” he said about bonsai.
In accordance with fair tradition, free admission was offered on opening day to visitors younger than 13 and older than 64, as well as military veterans. More than 3,900 children and 1,839 seniors came to the fair that day, Calicchio said.
“Having people ages 65 or older come out during the heat is pretty amazing,” she said.
Children ages 3 and under as well as active duty military personnel had free admission on all fair days.
Calicchio is keeping next year’s fair attractions a secret.
“We don’t talk about those yet,” she said, laughing. “We keep that pretty close to our chests until we’re really ready to divulge the theme, but we have some great ideas, needless to say.”