PINE BLUFF -- Rolanda Jones and her two young boys screamed wildly as one of the twirling carnival rides at the Southeast Arkansas District Fair and Rodeo in Pine Bluff revved to full speed.
For the small family, the Thursday night outing was a rare event. Jones, 40, is a single mother and doesn't make much money, but she likes to treat her children when she can. She saved for two months just to be able to spend one night at the fair.
"You know, it's expensive when you think about food, rides and games," Jones said as she walked down the midway with her sons Zachary, 4, and Robert, 9, amid dozens of flashing neon signs advertising everything from funnel cakes to games of chance. "I probably will spend around $60 dollars before the night is over. But it's worth it."
Unlike Jones, many have decided not to attend fairs anymore, especially in rural areas, either because of financial issues or a lack of interest. Dozens of smaller county fairs around the state have reported declining attendance and participation over the past several years, although larger fairs seem to be thriving.
There is no clear explanation why, but Bradley County Chamber of Commerce President David King, who oversees the Bradley County Fair, has a theory.
"Festivals have become the big thing for a lot of smaller towns," King said.
"Of course, we have our Pink Tomato Festival here, which is huge. It seems to me and others I have talked with that most of the interest turns toward these festivals. And in many ways, the decline of the county fair here in Bradley County almost parallels the rise in attendance and participation we have seen at the tomato festival."
King said the fair a decade ago used to draw as many as 5,000 people over several days. This year's event drew a little more than 2,300 people. King added, too, that larger fairs can offer more extravagant rides and games, which are a "very big draw."
Jenny Cook of Warren said she stopped taking her children to the fair three years ago because they lost interest. But she doesn't mind. It cost her about $50 for two nights of fun.
"You have to think about everything else kids have these days, and going to the fair just isn't as much fun as when I was a girl," Cook said. "They have phones, Internet, they can watch movies with hand-held devices. There is just too much modern entertainment to compete with the fair."
In Calhoun and Ouachita counties, fair organizers said attendance has also been sagging over the past few years.
Pam Newton, secretary for the Calhoun County Fair Board, said the six-day fair there had about 10,000 attendees this year, which is "down a little bit from previous years."
She blamed the economy, especially for the lower-than-normal number of participants in the fair pageants and livestock events.
Melinda Chambers, president of the Ouachita County Fair Board, said the fair in Camden experienced a slight drop in attendance compared with last year. About 4,000 people attended the five-day event this year, compared with 4,300 in 2013.
Overall, though, Ouachita County Fair attendance has been in steady decline over the past decade, she said.
"We used to have a lot more animals and events, but there is so much else to do these days," Chambers said. "And feed prices are going up. It's expensive to get involved in livestock shows."
Other fairs in rural counties around the state reported similar stories, with numbers below 2013 attendance figures.
Nationally, however, many fairs and exhibitions are reporting an upswing in attendance.
Jim Tucker, president and CEO of the International Association of Fairs and Exhibitions in Springfield, Mo., said 80 percent of the 1,100 fairs that hold memberships with his organization have reported increases in attendance over the past few years.
"We feel really good about the strong attendance figures we are seeing," Tucker said. "Fairs are real, they offer things you can touch, taste and see, as opposed to the virtual world online.
"These things ebb and flow, but there is no real answer as to why some fairs see a decline and others rise in attendance."
The Arkansas State Fair opens Friday, and organizers say they are hopeful to meet or exceed last year's attendance numbers, which were down slightly from 2012. In 2013, the fair drew 445,314 visitors, down 1 percent from 2012, which saw 447,680 attendees.
Jimmy Curtis, president of the Four States Fair and Rodeo in Texarkana, said the 10-day event there saw a significant increase in attendance this year.
The fair drew 85,000 people, compared with 77,000 in 2013. He attributed the higher numbers to "better weather. For us, that's really what it boils down to, having good weather."
Final numbers aren't in for this year's Pope County Fair in Russellville, but fair manager Ray Baker said he has never seen larger crowds than this year.
"There were lines for every food vendor and booth like you would not believe," Baker said.
Like Curtis, Baker said good weather was a contributing factor to attendance at the fair, which typically draws about 30,000 people over a week-long period.
"We always have a really good fair," Curtis said. "Folks in Pope County always support this fair. I feel like we have the best fair in the state. I really do."
While bad weather wasn't a major factor in fairs around the state that are reporting lower attendance numbers, poorer economies and declining populations in rural areas such as Bradley, Calhoun and Ouachita counties likely were, said retired economist Ralph Landers of Pine Bluff.
"More people are moving to urban areas, and rural areas typically have higher unemployment rates, so it should be fairly obvious why people don't have income these days to fritter away on luxuries such as going to the county fair," Landers said.
"It's sad to say, but the days of the small county fair may be numbered."
At the end of her fair visit in Pine Bluff, Jones packed a large stuffed tiger won at a balloon-popping dart game into the cargo area of a maroon SUV. She wiped pink bits of cotton candy off her youngest child's face and let out a long sigh.
"This may be our last year here," she said. "Saving my money is the only way I can make this happen. But if they beg me enough to come next year, I'll probably be right back here."
Metro on 10/06/2014