The cost of attending this year’s Kitsap County Fair and Stampede is dramatically higher than comparable events in Washington and beyond, and the increase over time is striking.
For example:
- In 2019, a combo fair/rodeo ticket cost just $11 per person. Today, it is four times higher, with no clear added value for attendees.
- A family of four can attend the Pendleton Round-Up, ranked among the nation’s top ten rodeos, for $128.
- Admission for a family of four to the Washington State Fair, the largest in the state, along with the rodeo, is $153.
By contrast, the Kitsap County Fair and Stampede is charging $163 for a family of four, including $23 in service fees, for tickets that include the rodeo. That is more than the Washington State Fair, and well above a premier national rodeo like Pendleton.
This raises important questions: Why has there been a four-fold increase in just six years? Where are these service fees and higher ticket revenues going? What justifies such a steep cost for a local county fair, especially when there’s no apparent added value to the experience?…