NBC 7’s Adonis Albright spoke with fairgoers who took full advantage of the last hours of fun at the fair.
Another sun has set on the county fair, so let's take a look at the numbers from turkey legs gobbled up to the number of Ferris wheel riders.
This year, almost one million people flocked to the Del Mar Fairgrounds from June 12 through July 7 for the San Diego County Fair, a summer staple in the region.
How many people attended the San Diego County Fair 2024?
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
A grant total of 877,452 people attended the fair this year, despite it running for 20 days, two days shorter than in 2023.
Fervent fairgoers will know that the fair usually ends alongside fireworks on July Fourth. But this year was the first since 2015 that the fair continued beyond July 4.
Strongest days at the fair were Wednesdays and Thursdays, one of which was the Juneteenth holiday, which some San Diegans might remember as a day of unusually dense traffic on northbound Interstate-5. The Fair declared a sell-out on admission that day.
What day was the busiest day of the fair?
Local
July 3 was the fair's busiest day, which saw more than 64,000 patrons in attendance.
“The San Diego County Fair this year looked and felt better, cleaner, safer and more fun than ever before,” said Carlene Moore, CEO of the 22nd District Agricultural Association. “In our third year back after an extraordinarily challenging two-year hiatus, we feel we have truly hit our stride and set a new Fair standard that we can build upon for years to come."
“We already cannot wait to have San Diegans back out in 2025 for the biggest, best, and oldest community celebration in the region," Moore said.
How much fair food was eaten at the San Diego County Fair? (a lot)
The indulgent food is one of the things that fairgoers look forward to the most. But which specific delectable delights did San Diegans eat the most of? Find out below!
Fairgoers love chowing down on the bird legs at the fair — that's right, turkey legs! A total of 38,569 turkey legs were sold within 20 days.
Spam dishes were all the rage at the fair this year, meaning fairgoers emptied 4,265 cans of Spam.
It is a summer fair after all, so it's no surprise that 61,764 ice cream cones were served and 20,100 gallons of lemonade poured out (for the ones who couldn't make it to the fair this year).
Despite what it may seem, the fair does serve vegetables, as 23,655 ears of corn were shucked and served.
Which musical artist had the most attendees at the San Diego County Fair?
The fair boasted 227 local entertainers and acts, but the band Los Tucanes de Tijuana saw the most attendance with 7,785 people.
Big fair, big numbers
A 2019 study found that the regional economic impact from the fair was $237 million. Media personnel with the Del Mar Fairgrounds told NBC 7 that the 2019 study is their most updated numbers.
An estimated 6,500 stuffed animals were donated and will be distributed to children's hospitals in region with the Care 'N' Share program, according to the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
Finally, 566 items were turned into the Lost & Found on July 5.
There were zero major safety incidents at the fair this year, according to the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
