2026 Fair - Thursday Day 1

Well, that was quick! The 2026 Fair wasted no time in setting a new all-time record for opening day attendance with 155,185 streaming through the gates. This strong showing was well above the average first Thursday traffic, and outpaced last year’s opener by nearly 20,000.

The Blue Ribbon weather certainly helped. It might also have something to do with a number of early school year starts around the Metro area shifting normal traffic patterns; time will tell on that.

Personally, I wouldn’t sleep on the impact of the spectacular lunar eclipse that we enjoyed last evening. Here is the moon just as the show began above my neighbor’s roofline.

If Kathryn’s early on-the-ground impression from Friday’s fair is any indication, we might be seeing another record fall when the numbers drop tomorrow.