Sunny skies and all the festive offerings of the Wisconsin State Fair propelled attendance and sales during the fair's 11-day run from July 31 through Aug. 10, 2008.
Attendance was up 9 percent over 2007 as 872,458 people passed through the West Allis gates.
"Our message of family affordability, diverse programming and a Fair experience to suit every age resonated with our Fairgoers," said Randy Prasse, executive director of Wisconsin State Fair, who went on to say, "We are certainly thrilled with the safe, fun experience we were able to provide our guests and are thankful that Mother Nature provided great weather for all to enjoy."
Here are more numbers from the State Fair wrap up department:
The Grand Champion Crossbred Steer shown by Brock May, weighing at 1315 pounds, sold for $25,000 with the winning bid from Metcalfe Sentry Foods.
Cream puffs sold: 381,926
Bags of maple cotton candy: 4,235
Grilled cheese sandwiches: 48,582
Pork sandwiches: 46,967
Baked potatoes: 60,000
Giant slide rides (single-day record): 15,000
The 2009 Wisconsin State Fair, presented by U.S. Cellular, takes place Thursday, Aug. 6-16 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
