LOCAL
Ismael Lele, The Oklahoma Eagle
Attendance at the Tulsa State Fair dropped by 100,000 this year compared to last. Photo: Tim Landes/Tulsa Flyer
Roughly 100,000 fewer people attended the Tulsa State Fair this year compared to 2024, according to numbers released last week by fair officials.
Vendors said they could feel the drop in visitors, despite officials saying 1 million people attended.
“It just didn’t seem that there were as many people here this time,” Susan McBrien, who makes and sells funnel cakes at the fair, said. “We’ve done this a long time. That is part of the hills and valleys of this business. Sometimes everybody comes out and they’re good. Other times they’ve got concerns and they’ve got other things to do.”
Part of the reason for the attendance drop is a more expensive experience. Some people voiced their concerns underneath a Tulsa State Fair Facebook post: “$20 to park is crazy,” one person commented. “Lower your prices and make parking in the dirt free again and maybe people will actually spend money at vendor booths!” another wrote.
Adults tickets to the fair went up $2 this year, from $15 to $17. For seniors, military members and kids aged 5-12, the price increased from $10 to $12.
“Even with rising costs nationwide, we’ve prioritized maintaining a balanced price structure that allows us to deliver a safe, high-quality, and memorable event for guests while supporting the thousands of jobs and local businesses connected to the fair,” Amanda Blair, vice president and chief operating officer of Expo Square, which hosts the fair, told The Eagle in a statement.
Blair said they are conscious of affordability issues, which is why there are discounts for admissions on certain days and bundle value options for families.
Aiden Wilkinson, a My Favorite Candy Store employee, told The Eagle he also felt the decline in attendance from last year to now. He didn’t say whether it affected his business.
The drop-off was apparent to McBrien when it came to sales.
“People were a little more conservative with their money. I think there’s a little unrest right now,” she said. “It felt like there were people that were not quite sure about the crowds, [and] not quite sure about how much money they had to spend.”
While there were slightly more vendor booths this year, that didn’t include Swicks Liquidations and Auction, which sat out the fair for the first time in 20 years. Its owner, Jeff Schwickerath, announced in a Facebook post that the cost to be a vendor would be too high.
“The people are just not there,” Schwickerath told The Eagle. “If they find there’s a million people there, it’s just not true. They’re not there and I would say, show me the proof of that.”
Attendance figures are calculated through a combination of ticket sales, gate counts and complimentary admissions — including exhibitors, competitors, sponsors and partners, Blair said.
Still, Schwickerath commended fair organizers for their efforts. He said they are in a difficult position trying to make a profit, and he plans to return when it’s good for his business again.
For now, he’s sticking with operating a brick-and-mortar location in Sapulpa and the Creek County fair — decisions he said yielded him a profit. The last time he and his employees went to the Tulsa State Fair, they didn’t make money.
“No business wants to go out there and work for 15 days and not make money,” Schwickerath said. “(You) used to go out there and make (a) killing because there was a big crowd.”
While the people were down, one thing did increase this year: the amount of dairy bar milkshakes and ice cream cones that were sold. Fair numbers showed 8,000 were purchased, up from 6,500 last year.
The 2026 Tulsa State Fair is scheduled to run Oct. 1-11.
