Mid-State Fair sees sold-out concerts, more revenue from livestock auctions

Triple-digit heat didn’t stop people from heading to the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles this summer, resulting in strong concert ticket sales, solid attendance numbers and increased revenue from livestock auctions.

Concertgoers purchased more than 78,000 tickets to see acts including Demi Lovato, Pitbull, Florida Georgia Line and Tim McGraw, according to a fair news release. Ticket sales took a dip from 2017, when a total of 91,030 fairgoers crammed into the Chumash Grandstand Area, but increased from 74,845 tickets sold in 2016.

For the first time in fair history, two performers had sold-out shows in the same year: country superstars Eric Church, who performed July 21, and Luke Bryan, who performed July 26.

Live music wasn’t the only option for entertainment.

Fairgoers spent a total of $1,200,000 on carnival rides and attractions, a 5-percent increase in revenue from 2017. Pre-sale ride passes increased 6.5 percent from the previous year.

According to the news release, fair attendance in 2018 was “virtually identical” to that at the 2017 fair. That year, about 428,615 people flocked to the Paso Robles Event Center.

Official ticket counts will not be available for several weeks, the fair said.

Revenue from livestock auctions at the fair increased about 5 percent from 2017, totaling $2,608,535 for 871 animals, according to unofficial calculations. Of that, $2,203,185 came from the Junior Livestock Auction while $405,350 came from the Replacement Heifer Sale.

The Industrial Arts Auction, meanwhile, raised a record $100,825 with 61 entries.

The next California Mid-State Fair runs July 17 through 28, 2019. For more information, visit www.midstatefair.com.

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 3:21 PM.