RALEIGH (AP) — Officials say the North Carolina State Fair was successful, even though attendance probably came up short of the 1 million mark.
State Agriculture commissioner Steve Troxler said Sunday night he’s confident that attendance at the 2012 fair will have been the third largest in history.
Officials estimate the fair drew about 965,000 during its 11-day run. Final figures were expected today.
Last year, just over 1 million people attended the fair. In 2010, attendance nearly reached 1.1 million.
Troxler says officials changed access to some of the animals this year. That came after two dozen people got sick from an E. coli outbreak last year. Hand-washing stations got better lighting and larger signs. Some stations explained how to wash hands.