In spite of the warm, sunny weather experienced throughout most of last week, a spat of storms that rolled into the area last Friday sabotaged the attendance figures of the 2017 Cass County Fair, according to event officials.

The 166th annual county fair, which took place July 30 through last Saturday, Aug. 5, suffered a slight decline in paid attendance compared to last year, according to officials with the fair office. A total of 44,156 visitors stopped by the Cassopolis fairground during the weeklong event, a decrease of 783 compared to last year’s figures.

The following is a breakdown of the daily admission figures:

Monday: 6,397

Tuesday: 7,514

Wednesday: 5,819

Thursday: 6,313

Friday: 5,561

Saturday: 12,553

This year marked the second in a row that fair attendance declined compared to last, although the drop-off was not as dramatic compared to the around 2,800 fewer people who attended the fair in 2016 versus 2015.

Fair leaders believe the dip was caused by the heavy rain and colder temperatures that took place throughout the region last Friday, the day the fair suffered its worst attendance.

“Usually Friday is a big day for us, but it continued to rain throughout the day last week, and that hurt our overall attendance for the week,” said Fair Board President Gail Peterson.

In spite of the dip in attendance figures, other numbers remained steady this year compared to last. Participation from 4-H youth was similar to last year’s figures, as was the amount of money generated through animal auctions, Peterson said.

While the fair office did not have official figures on hand, Peterson is hoping the addition of a new set of bleachers inside the fair’s grandstand resulted in boosted ticket sales for the various shows that took place throughout the week, including the popular Demolition Derby Thursday and the Monster Truck show Saturday.

The fair board will consider adding new attractions to next year’s fair to keep things fresh and perhaps bring new faces through the gates in 2018, Peterson said. Among the ideas they have discussed include adding a track for radio controlled vehicles that visitors may rent and use.

Peterson thanked everyone who helped support 4-H members through purchasing animals during last week’s auction, as well as the companies and organizations that sponsored the grandstand shows throughout fair week. The fair president also appreciated the efforts of the many men and women who gave up their time to pitch in with the fair this year, from the police officers who helped bolster security to Boy Scouts members who helped clean the fairgrounds.

“Whether they are new people in new spots or old volunteers who have been helping out for years, at every show, from grandstand events to the livestock or exhibits, we have people present who help run the events or prepare things ahead of time,” Peterson said. “They are what makes the fair work every year.”