Fair attendance strong in first week - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Visitors can get in to the State Fair free of charge, with a coupon, today. It's just one of the many promotions aimed at getting more visitors through the gates.  On that front, State Fair officials say, so far, so good. In fact they're seeing a slight increase in attendance this year compared to last. 

Today is just the sixth day of the 17-day-long fair. And like most days, there's discounted admission - a way to get more people in the gate, especially in the middle of the week, when crowds are typically lighter.  Today and tomorrow, you can get in free with a coupon from Monday's Indianapolis Star.  Also tomorrow, all state employees are admitted free.  If you do end up paying admission at the gate, you can save $3 by buying in advance at Wal-mart, CVS and Farm Bureau Insurance offices. 

Over the first four days of the fair, 205,526 people came through the gates.  The first two concerts, held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse instead of the grandstand due to last year's fatal stage collapse, saw 4,500 people for Train and 8,000 for Barry Manilow. Fair officials consider those decent numbers, not spectacular.  In the past, people would spend the day at the fair and then go to the concert on the grounds.  Now, a ticket to a concert will still get you into the fair, but there's the logistic issue of getting from the fairgrounds to downtown. 
 
The fair opens this morning at 8 a.m. and runs through 11 p.m. 

At the fair today:

• The Big Cheese unveiling takes place at noon at the food pavilion.
• Sculptor Sarah Kaufmann will show off her two-thousand pound cheese carving that resembles a dairy cow.
• Tonight at seven, Easton Corbin performs on the free stage.
• And the big concert of the night happens at Bankers Life Fieldhouse featuring Journey, Pat Benatar and Loverboy. That starts at 7 p.m. tonight.