Saturday’s attendance at the N.C. State Fair was a whopping 146,635, bringing the running total to 903,674. Another day today of gorgeous weather should put attendance over 1 million.

Fair spokesman Brian Long says that pretty much assures this year's fair will be the second-most attended ever. Last year's fair broke records with 1,091,887.

Yesterday's N.C. State Fair attendance was the second highest for the second Friday of the fair in 25 years. 94,314 attended the Fair on October 21, fewer than last year's record of 105,073 but more than the previous 2009 record of 90,166.

State Fair spokesman Brian Long says with good crowds today and tomorrow, the fair could end up with its second-highest attendance total ever, trailing only last year’s record of 1,091,887.

Attendance at the N.C. State Fair has been down a bit so far this year, at least compared to last year's record attendance.

Most days, not by much, but Wednesday's rain was a killer. Attendance was lowest that day, down about 20,000 from last year on the same day. It's really not fair to compare anything to last year, when the fair drew almost 214,000 more visitors than the year before, and 268,000 more than the average attendance over the last ten years.

Thursday's attendance on Food Lion Hunger Relief day (aka "free can day") was 112,822 (same day in 2010 saw 125,573, but in 2009 it was 108,929).

The fair still has two big days left -- the final Saturday and Sunday. The final Saturday is always the biggest day of the year, and there's great weather on tap.

UPDATE: Friday's attendance was the second highest for the second Friday of the fair in 25 years. 94,314 attended the Fair on October 21, fewer than last year's record of 105,073 but more than the previous 2009 record of 90,166. More...

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TOTAL ATTENDANCE 2010
1,091,887

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE (2005-2009)
875,892

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE (2001-2010) (*includes years with only 10 fair days)
823,782

107,112 people attended the North Carolina State Fair yesterday.

Last year's first Sunday attendance was 112,130 (that's the record), but yesterday was still the 2nd highest first Sunday in several years.

Yesterday's attendance at the State Fair was 127,674. That doesn't quite match last year's first Saturday attendance of 131,699, which broke a record. But it's the second-highest first Saturday attendance in several years.

Sunny skies and comfortable temperatures helped lure a record number of people to the fair on Sunday.

Sunday's attendance was 112,130, well above the previous record of 97,655 set in 2003. It's the third record in the fair's first four days.

One footnote, though: It's not possible to compare the attendance numbers to previous years, because last year the fair started including workers, media and state employees who work the fair and those who show at livestock events. Previously, those folks weren't counted.

Saturday was the busiest day of  the fair so far, when 131,699 showed up.

When the state fair added a half day in 2008 and opened on a Thursday afternoon for the first time, organizers didn't know kind of opening-day crowd to expect. They ended up with a decent one - 35,215.

In 2009, that number crept to 37,932, as more people became aware of the extra fair time.

This year, attendance on the opening Thursday jumped again to 47,677. It helped that the rain showers stopped about the same time as the gates opened.

For the third straight day, attendance at the N.C. State Fair on Sunday was below last year’s numbers, and a spokesman said weather may have been a factor.

Despite clear skies, Sunday’s brisk weather may have dampened attendance, particularly after the sun went down, said Brian Long, spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Sunday’s 85,495 visitors was about 8,000 fewer than the same day last year.

“I think the cool temperatures probably were a factor yesterday,” Long said. “I noticed we didn’t have a huge night-time crowd last night.”

Attendance at the first three full days of the fair is 215,618, compared to 253,596 last year. Another 35,215 people attended the extra half day added to the beginning of this year's fair on Thursday.

Temperatures are expected to rebound into the mid-60s today and the lower 70s on Tuesday, under mostly sunny skies.

“We’ll see if the weather was a factor or not over the next couple of days,” Long said.

Following a rainy Friday that kept numbers low, State Fair attendance rebounded Saturday, with 87,457 people passing though the fair's gates.
 
The same day last year was a little busier, with 102,325 attending.

Today's sunny skies will likely result in a jump in attendance over Saturday.