State fair closures cut costs

Since most patrons visit later in the week, officials at the New Mexico State Fair decided to close on Mondays and Tuesdays this year, said Craig Swagerty, the fair’s general manager.

Still, fairgoers haven’t been deterred by early-week closures, and Swagerty said the fair’s revenue and attendance is up from last year.
“We did a study, and we found that 67 percent of our business is on the weekends, Thursdays and Fridays. We don’t even have enough attendance on Mondays and Tuesdays to cover our overhead,” he said.
The State Fair continues until Sept. 26.

UNM student Heather Cruz said closing on low-attendance days is a smart, cost-cutting measure.sheSwaggerty said fair officials wanted to keep the fair open for three weekends, but therethe number of jobs offered at the fair hasn’t decreased as a result of the closure. have not been a decrease in jobs offered at the fair.

“We’ve cut our hours down enough that it’s become profitable now for us,” he said. “They’re (vendors) cutting their overhead, too, and they’re still making as much money.”

Desi’Rai Tolson, a dunk girl in the midwaywho works at a state fair dunk tank, is among many
temporary fair workers.

“I sit 25 feet high up in the air, and people throw a ball at a target and dunk me. It’s cool because I get to swim on a hot day,” she said.
Cruz said when she attended the fair earlier this month, the price of rides and food were cheaper compared to past years.
“I go to the state fair almost every other day of every year,” she said. “The rides are cheaper. This year, you can spend $15 dollars for an all-day ride pass, which is awesome. They dropped their turkey leg prices down by a quarter.”

Entrance fees, however, have remained the same from last year — between $7-9, Cruz said.

Despite all the changes this year, Swaggerty said the fair is still a family affair, but event coordinators have tried reaching out more to college students.

“We’ve got a great concert this Saturday night with Uncle Kracker. We’re trying to find something that the college kids can get into. Next year, I’d love to visit with some of you from the college and (hear you) say, ‘Hey, why don’t you bring this in, or this in?’ so we can appeal to everyone,” he said.

But overall, Swaggerty said, the year’s fair has been successful.

“It’s worked out fantastically for us,” he said. “We’ve been very fortunate. It’s been safe. It’s been clean. That’s what some of my goals are and to make it fun.”