BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — It was a rainy start to the day at the Bloomsburg Fair, but that did not keep people away.
”It seemed like even with rain, people still came out. It didn’t stop them," Tom "Papa" Ruckle of Papa's Kettle Corn said.
Over the weekend, it was a different story.
”Saturday, we got a lot of rain, and then it didn’t rain. We got a lot of people on Saturday night, and I was expecting to have a wash for Saturday. It actually turned out to be a relatively good day," Cheri Bissinger of Bissinger's Apple Dumplings said.
Saturday’s fairground attendance was just over 28,000 people. That’s less than half of what it was for the fair’s first Saturday in 2022.
”Friday was great for the opening day. Saturday, for the weather, it held off and was a pretty good fair day. Yesterday was a washout," Jared Starr of Starr's Cider said.
Weekends are typically the busiest days at the Bloomsburg Fair. Vendors say they count on those days.
"You like to have that good first weekend so all your bills are taken care of, and you can just coast the rest of the week. You didn’t really have that? No. We did okay, but it’s not like it was in past years," Starr said.
Sunday's attendance was just over 18,600 people. That’s about 12,000 less than in 2022. Even so, vendors are optimistic for the rest of fair week.
"It is Bloom Fair, and we always get rain. Hopefully, from what I’ve seen on the forecast from your station, it’s going to get nice, and we will finish the week on a positive note," Bissinger said.
"As you can see here today, there’s really a large crowd here today. It’s supposed to be nice the way Joe said it would be for the rest of the week. We’re going to hold Joe to that," Ruckle said.
One positive about rain at the Bloomsburg Fair. It gives people a good opportunity to check out the indoor exhibits the fair offers.
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