After another year of waiting, the State Fair made its way back to Raleigh on Thursday. However, despite what some may think, this yearly event offers more than just the chance to indulge in deep fried confections and cotton candy. In fact, it is one of the largest economic stimulators for the capital city. Since 1986, an average of 731,386 visitors have attended the State Fair each year. In 2007, however, attendance spiked at 858,611 visitors, resulting in more than $10 million in revenue for the fair. If pre-sales are an indication of what is to come, this year’s fair could see similar numbers according to Karlie Justus, public information officer for the State Fair. ”We’ve seen a great number of advanced sale tickets being sold,” Justus said. “It’s a great deal if you buy in advance. We’re really excited with [the turnout], and we feel like we’re doing really well.” According to fair officials, more than 123,000 pre-sale admission tickets have been sold. State Fair officials believe this may translate into an assortment of things for Raleigh. ”It’s great to have nearly 800,000 people come into Raleigh,” Justus said. “That definitely helps out local businesses — hotels, restaurants and even gas stations.” Further adding to the possibility of having more people in hotels and restaurants in the area is the addition of more nightly entertainment options. As a part of the Dorton Arena Shows, which have become a staple of the State Fair in recent years, North Carolina natives and American Idol alums Kellie Pickler and Anoop Desai will take the stage to entertain fairgoers. Gone are the days where going to the fair included spending the afternoon at the fairground, Justus said. ”Every day we have stuff going on all day,” Justus said. “There’s entertainment, food, artists and other stuff going on all day from the time that we open until we close.” However, some obstacles pose significant threats to the success of this year’s fair — one being the swine flu. With the threat of such a disease lurking, Justus — like most people — understands potential visitors’ hesitancies. However, she does not think it is a reason to keep people away. Justus said anytime you get a big group of people together — whether at the fair or not — health matters are items of concern. However, she does not think this particular concern should weigh in too heavily on anyone’s decision to visit the fair or not. ”We have several hand-washing stations out and around the fairgrounds,” Justus said. “We expect to have a healthy fair, and we’ll hopefully get people to come out and have fun.” Julia Whitt, a sophomore in biological science who has worked at the fair for the past couple of years, does not think H1N1 will affect people’s decisions to attend too heavily. ”It’s the fair, it’s tradition,” Whitt said. “I don’t think the flu is going to stop people from coming out.” Ryan Lassiter, a freshman in civil engineering, believes that the economy is a bigger issue. ”I think as far as swine flu goes, it’s not as big an issue as the economy,” said Lassiter. While some point out that the fair stands to positively stimulate Raleigh’s economy, Lassiter said he believes the economy may ultimately keep some people at home this year. Whitt, however, said she believes that people should think of the good the fair stands to bring to Raleigh’s economy. ”The fair brings other people to the area, and it gives back,” Whitt said. “It also brings a lot of people to North Carolina from out of state.” In addition to the money that the fair stands to bring in over the course of the next couple of weeks, the fair is also reigning in some well-needed jobs for North Carolinians. More than 2,000 people completed applications for nearly 350 available positions. However, if people do not show up, there will be no demand for workers. Justus and other fair officials hope this won’t be the case. This year, the job routing for vendor positions went through the state Employment Security Commission, as opposed to the fair’s office, yielding additional benefits for job seekers. As a result of the routing going through the state ESC, job applicants may find themselves with long-term job opportunities after the fair, as the office will be able to match the applicants with other jobs that they might not have known about previously. As far as the fair goes, however, the ultimate success may depend on something that no one will have any control over: the weather. With weather forecasts predicting some of the coldest weather North Carolinians have seen in months, the question has been raised whether people will still make the trip in the cold autumn weather. According to Justus, this should not be as much of a problem as rain. 

“Cold, crisp, fall weather is as much a part of the fair as deep fried foods,” Justus said. “I think the cool weather will be a nice addition, as long as the rain holds out for us.”