Leaning into the Americana combo of the country’s 250th and Colorado’s 150th anniversaries, the El Paso County Fair drew tens of thousands of attendees over eight days in July.

Held at fairgrounds near Calhan east of Colorado Springs, the fair drew over 31,000 attendees, similar to last year. Popular events included livestock shows, a demolition derby and a newly introduced drone show.

“It was something unique to the El Paso County Fair that we hadn’t done before,” said Janna Tidwell, executive director of the county Parks Department, said of the drone show at a presentation Tuesday.

Despite steady attendance stats, revenue from general admission and tickets to grandstand events declined this year. Tidwell attributed the drop to discount admission days. Another snag this year was the fair’s coincidence with the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.

Sponsorships netted about twice the revenue of regular admission, Tidwell said. Overall, the fair made about $411,000, surpassing organizers’ goals. Proceeds are reinvested into programming and upkeep of the fairgrounds.

“It’s a self-sustaining fair,” said County Commissioner Carrie Geitner.

A classic aspect of the fair, junior livestock events generated a record $556,000 in sales, including $11,000 for a champion market steer raised by Cooper Spurlock of Calhan.

Commissioner Holly Williams said young people showing at livestock events were brimming with knowledge.

“They’re just amazing to listen to,” she said.