The flashing lights of the amusement rides were gone, as were the excited laughter, squeals and screams from those who braved the rides.

The smells and the taste of the corn dogs and funnel cakes had already faded, and the songs of Willie Nelson were but faint echoes as workers braved the heat and humidity on Sunday afternoon to complete as much as they could of the arduous task of tearing down and cleaning up after the end of the 143rd annual SEMO District Fair.

The workers, many of whom had been at the fairgrounds in Arena Park since 7 Sunday morning, were able to complete about 85 percent of the cleanup process on Sunday. The remaining 15 percent would wait until today.

"It went as smoothly as any fair in the past," director Pete Poe said Sunday afternoon as he assessed this year's fair.

He pointed to a few events that made this year's fair special. The demolition derby, held annually on Monday night, was the largest in the history of the fair, with 102 cars participating.

But most impressive, he said, was the concert performed by country music legend Willie Nelson, whom Poe called, "a gentleman in every way."

"We've got a tough act to follow," he said as he looked forward to next year's fair.

More than 95,000 people crowded into Arena Park during the week of the fair, which ended Saturday night. Earlier in the week, Poe had said that the fair was on a pace to break the 100,000 attendance mark.

But Saturday's attendance of 16,802 was down over last year's Saturday attendance of 19,217.

The difference in Saturday's attendance accounted for the drop in final attendance figures from last year to this year. Every other day, with the exception of Wednesday, showed an increase over last year in daily attendance.

This year 95,174 people attended the fair, 2,023 fewer than last year's attendance of 97,197.

Poe attributed the decline in Saturday's attendance to the weather. By late afternoon, with temperatures in the 90s and humid conditions, the traffic into the fairgrounds had already begun to slow down, he said.

"It just got too hot," he said.

But overall, Poe was pleased with the weather conditions for this year's fair.

On Thursday, as Willie Nelson took the stage, thunderstorms raged in areas around Cape Girardeau, but did not hit the fairgrounds.

"The weather gods were with us," Poe said.

FAIR ATTENDANCE

Sunday, 19,602

Monday, 7,516

Tuesday, 8,631

Wednesday, 11,364

Thursday, 12,980

Friday, 18,279

Saturday, 16,802

Total attendance, 95,174