In all, 505,434 people attended this year's eight-day fair, which ended Saturday, a jump of 39,000 over the previous year's attendance record.
The Wilson County Fair is the largest agricultural fair in the state — out-drawing even the Nashville-based Tennessee State Fair — and ranks as one of the 50 largest fairs in the nation.
Among the events and exhibits drawing the crowds this year were the usual agricultural exhibits, musical performances and midway rides, but also more offbeat entertainment, ranging from dog-riding monkey races to a Guitar Hero competition.
Organizers had hoped to break the half-million mark this year. The fair shattered records from the start this year, drawing 200,000 attendees on its first weekend and forcing fair officials to bring in shuttle buses to relieve crowding in the parking lots.
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