A Record: 17,000-plus saw Holiday Lights Fair

The numbers are starting to come in and by all counts the 2015 Holiday Lights Fair set a record for attendance.

Du Quoin Tourism director Judy Smid said Tuesday that more than 17,000 people have either been on the driving tour or were in the Exhibition Hall on the three entertainment weekends.

Tourism allowed visitors onto the grounds of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds free of charge Monday night because high winds had pulled some of the lighting down. There will still plenty to see.

The 2015 edition of Southern Illinois' best traveled event closes tonight. Lighting was being repaired today and families will be charged $10 per car to take the tour tonight.

"As of Tuesday, we counted 5,120 cars through the gates," said Smid.

"We set a record on Saturday, December 19. Tourism took in over $7,000 on that night."

Total receipts for the month-long fair have not been added yet, but in recent years receipts were over $50,000. All of the proceeds go to Du Quoin Tourism and find their way back into the show.

Smid said the show benefitted from great entertainment and a record number of vendors who all say they did well.

"We had more and different vendors," she said.

Mild weather no doubt contributed to the success of this year's show, which has been open since Thanksgiving.

"I talked to a lot of people out there," she said. "We even had visitors from Ecuador and Germany who were thrilled to be here," she said.

She extended her appreciation to the volunteers who gave their time to make the show a success, to the visitors who came to see it and to the Du Quoin State Fair's staff and work camp for being so accommodating.

She said planning for next year's show is already underway.