Although organizers don’t have final attendance numbers, they know this year's festival set a new record. “We were up,” Schaffner said. “The treasurer estimated about 10 percent up from last year, and last year was a record crowd. You could barely get through the crowd on Saturday.”
Last year 31,400 people attended the event, and this year organizers were prepared for 40,000.
A World A'Fair drew 31 countries and international groups to provide entertainment and food. “Everybody raves about the food,” Schaffner said. “The India booth ran out of food early, and for the Netherlands booth, we had to get more apples four different times.”
Performances on two stages were going on nonstop. The Kenya Safari Acrobats were a big crowd pleaser.
New this year was a pet adoption booth sponsored by the Humane Society of Greater Dayton. Also, 60 people became U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony. “It was a very, very moving ceremony,” Schaffner said.
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