Delaware State Fair Completes Its 92nd Year with Another Hot Fair to Remember.

As the first day of the 2011 Delaware State Fair opened on Thursday July 21, 2011, some new jargon came from the mouths of TV meteorologists…the dreaded "heat dome". As experienced firsthand by The Delaware State Fair for the first 4 days of the 10 day fair, a "heat dome" was some sort of high pressure shroud of blazing hot weather that was visiting the Midwest, East Coast and large swaths of the West with air temperatures in the high 90s and lower 100s which translated into heat indexes or real feel temperatures approaching 116. During those 5 days over 221 heat records were shattered in the lower 48 states including Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.

The 2011 Fair attendance was 261,624, down 14% from 2010. Fair attendance was down as much as 33% the first three days of Fair and as the temperatures cooled and the humidity began to recede slightly, cumulative attendance percentages began to recover towards the later part of the Fair.

The hot temperatures certainly did not keep the concert goers away as the Fair recorded its third best year with total gross dollars and over 54,000 total tickets being sold. The 2011 Delaware State Fair's Summer Concert Series offered a diverse entertainment and was showcased on a brand new permanent stage.

This year's lineup showcased three sell out shows by Big Time Rush with Hot Chelle Rae, Alan Jackson with Craig Campbell and the Demolition Derby. Other hot shows with near sell out numbers were by Country Superstars Toby Keith with Eric Church and Josh Turner with The Band Perry. Miranda Cosgrove with Greyson Chance performed for the younger concert goers while Kesha kicked off her tour here in Harrington much to the enjoyment of pop fans. Rock fans were entertained by Three Days Grace in the beginning of the week. In addition to great musical performances, fairgoers were entertained by TNA presents IMPACT Wrestling and a Monster Truck and Thrill Show. Assistant General Manager Danny Aguilar called the 2011 Delaware State Fair concert series "a great mix of entertainment in different genres at a great value. Despite above average heat and lower gate attendance, the Summer Concert Series was determined to be a huge success for the Delaware State Fair."

General Manager Bill DiMondi commented on the Fair's commitment to continuing the tradition of offering a great array of free entertainment made available to all patrons. "Circus Hollywood presented our fairgoers with of a full-blown circus complete with high wire acts, Cirque du Solei like Romanian gymnast, clowns and Fresian stallions." The biggest celebrity on the fairgrounds, "Twiggs", the giraffe stole the show yet again at the Giraffic Menagerie Petting Zoo as patrons of all ages thoroughly enjoyed feeding Twiggs his favorite carrots. Circus Hollywood is operated by the Coronas family of Hollywood, Florida and also presents the Giraffic Menagerie Petting Zoo and Hollywood Racing Pigs.

Comedian hypnotist Kerry Sharp was a new face in the Delaware Electric Cooperative's Free Entertainment Tent keeping audiences laughing for the first six nights of the Fair. Filling in the following four nights, the US Navy's Electric Brigade returned to the Delaware State Fair for the first time since 2008 and rocked the Delaware Electric Cooperative Free Entertainment Tent. Vocal Trash returned for another year to ecstatic fans by performing two free shows each evening to a packed house. Extremely large crowds were entertained by the hi-tech robotic dancing machine "Showbot" and the always fan favorite Hilby "the Skinny German Juggle Boy".

The Delaware State Fair began in 1919 as an agricultural fair and maintains its roots deep in agriculture still today. According to General Manager Bill DiMondi, "The total number of entries for 2011 was over 47,000 entries exhibited by more than 3,100 exhibitors." This year featured new contests including the Battle of the Brews Home Brew Contest. The Battle of the Brews was organized in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Agriculture as a means to highlight different uses of agricultural products specifically by home brewers. Assistant General Manager and Marketing Director Danny Aguilar said, "For the first year of the Battle of the Brews, we were expecting about 50 entries and were thrilled when the final numbers came in with 227 entries by 81 exhibitors deeming the first year a great success!" During the Battle of the Brews contest, four local breweries, Dogfish Head, Fordham, Old Dominion, and Twin Lakes along with Xtreme Brewing Supply, distributed samples of craft brewed ales to participants and fairgoers alike with Dogfish Head taking home the fan favorite award for their brew "Namaste".

Judging results for livestock and competitive exhibits can be viewed on the Fair's website at: www.DelawareStateFair.com.

Assistant General Manager and Marketing Director Danny Aguilar reported that the Fair played host to 50 corporate sponsors this year. Those sponsors included M&T Bank, Coke, Crocs, Oscar Mayer, Toyota, Geico, Delaware Electric Cooperative, Discover Bank, Del-One, Delaware Lottery, Delaware Army National Guard, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware, among several others. According to Mr. Aguilar, “the relationship that the Fair enjoys with our sponsors allows the Fair to offer our guests unequaled free grounds entertainment such as Circus Hollywood, the Giraffic Menagerie Petting Zoo, Vocal Trash, Showbot, the rodeo, daily figure skating show and much more”.

Overall, the 2011 Delaware State Fair is considered to have been a big success and indicative of the strong drawing power of a 92 year old fair which offers great opportunities in the form of education, entertainment and recreation when coupled with less than record setting July temperatures!

For further information please contact Danny Aguilar at 302-632-4991 or daguilar@delawarestatefair.com