(Des Moines, IA) -- The Iowa State Fair's releasing some early attendance numbers. On Thursday, the first day of the event, 77,700 people walked thru the gates. That's about 7,000 fewer than attended on the first day in 2019. There was no fair last year, due to the pandemic. The last several years, the total attendance for the Iowa State surpassed one million.
The 2019 fair recorded record high attendance levels.
Attendance typically surpasses 100-thousand on Saturdays and Sundays during the fair.
The 2021 Iowa State Fair announced earlier this year that the event would take place, with a number of additional COVID-19 precautions, including more hand sanitizing and hand washing stations.