Over 345,000 people attended this year’s Missouri State Fair, according to attendance figures released by fair officials and Governor Mike Parson’s office.

While attendance was down about 4000 from a year ago, attendance on Aug. 10 exceeded 50,000 visitors, bringing about record revenues for the carnival midway that day. Livestock and competitive entries totaled 29,000, boosted by a 14-percent jump in 4-H and FFA market livestock entries and a 20-percent increase in boer goat entries. Additionally, over 600 servings of Kingdom Crunch, the first-ever “ice cream flavor of the fair”, were sold at the Gerken Dairy Center.

Attendance figures were influenced by the State Fair Arena’s removal earlier this year, as part of the project to build a new indoor arena in its place. A groundbreaking ceremony took place during the fair, where it was revealed that the new facility would be named in honor of Governor Parson. The new arena is slated to open in March 2026.

The 123rd Missouri State Fair will take place Aug. 7-17 in Sedalia.