Expo: Attendance back to pre-9/11 levels

Published 3:28 pm Tuesday, December 6, 2005

MOULTRIE — Sunbelt Expo organizers are a happy bunch.

With the weather cooperating, visitors are showing up in droves. Expo Executive Director Chip Blalock said the world’s largest farm show with field demonstrations has snapped back to pre-9/11 attendance.

Actual numbers are unavailable for security reasons, but Blalock said Tuesday’s numbers were great and Wednesday’s gate toll was twice that. Expo topped out in 2000 upwards of 280,000. Exhibitors are “overjoyed” not only by the number of visitors but also the quality, he said.

“They’re doing a lot of business,” he said. “You can go in almost any booth and see the latest technology in that product category.”

The Expo sold out of exhibit space the earliest ever this year.

“Exhibitors are buying into the Expo concept. They know when they come to Sunbelt Expo, we’re going to provide them with a crowd they can sell products, services and technology to as a result of the educational process,” he said.

That begs the question of what’s next for the show, the grand finale of the outdoor farm show season.

“We’re going to just have to ask ourselves a question as a board — do we want to expand, how much do we want to expand,” Blalock said.