Sonoma County Harvest Fair revenues increased this year

Sonoma County Harvest Fair officials said revenue from wine and food tasting increased at last weekend’s event.

About 7,800 people attended the three-day gathering, said Katie Fonsen Young, the fair’s interim manager. She was unsure of the exact number last year, but attendance had increased from the 7,400 visitors in 2013.

“I know that we’re on the trend up,” she said.

Revenue from the tasting pavilion increased 15 percent from a year earlier, to $148,785, Young said. Revenue from non-tasting admissions, meaning those who visited the fair but not the tasting pavilion, increased 10 percent, to $8,570.

Food and beverage sales at the fair increased 52 percent from a year earlier and paid parking revenue increased 30 percent.

The Harvest Fair drew an estimated 20,000 people in 2012, but the event that year still lost about $30,000. Fair officials changed the format in 2013 to focus more on wine and food.