FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Shakina Butts doesn't have time to sit during the St. Lucie County Fair dinner rush.
A manager at JoJo's Wings said this is the fifth year they've served chicken wings at the annual fair. She said 2024 is likely to be the busiest year yet.
“It seems like every year it gets busier and busier,” Butts said. “There was a lot of traffic. I think there was a line all the way up the road yesterday. People were waiting an hour and a half to get into the fair.”
Jay Spicer, executive director of the St. Lucie County Fair Association, said fair attendance has increased by 30%. He attributed the increase to more people living in St. Lucie County and new marketing strategies.
“In St. Lucie County, they say that of the 1,000 people who move to Florida every day, 20 percent move to St. Lucie County,” Spicer said. “So this growth will naturally help our events and the business we promote in St. Lucie County.”
Spicer also shared photos from WPTV's Ethan Stein showing traffic backed up from the weekend. Spicer said he believes the problem stems from the fact that the amusement park only has one entrance, and he plans to ask the county to provide a separate entrance for traffic.
Spicer also said the biggest takeaway from the increase is that it feels like the goal of educating people about agriculture in a family-friendly atmosphere has been successful.
Butts said the increased traffic will increase food truck sales. She said she believes the increased traffic is due to increased development in the county.
“We believe that the new people coming and going brings in more money, brings in more people, and people getting out and having fun,” Butts said.
At the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach in January, drivers also waited hours to get in. Expo officials blamed the traffic jams on not having enough parking spaces to meet traffic demand, and also blamed the lack of rain over the weekend.
The fairgrounds also lost hundreds of parking spaces to the new warehouse.
