CANFIELD, Ohio - The 179th Canfield Fair is on track to be one of the biggest in decades.

After just one full day, attendance is already up from last year, with the highest opening-day turnout in 20 years.

Fair officials report more than 27,000 people visited on Wednesday, up roughly 5,000 from opening day in 2024, when attendance hovered around 22,000.

That’s good news for many vendors, who rely on the fair for one of their biggest business opportunities of the year, but some vendors said record crowds don’t necessarily mean record profits, as rising costs are cutting into their bottom lines.

Nationwide, inflation continues to take a bite out of businesses, and vendors at the Canfield Fair said this year is no exception.

For some, it’s one of the most expensive years they’ve ever seen.

“This year is probably the most expensive we’ve seen for products,” said Chad Scianna Jr., owner and operator of Antone’s Kitchen, “It was probably about a 20 to 25 percent increase from last year, just the cost of goods.”

Scianna Jr. said the prices for produce, meats and paper products have continued to climb in recent weeks.

“It continues to rise with every order that we place,” he added. 

As for Sanders Concessions, business booms as usual at Richard Sanders' lemonade stand, but he said profits are down.

“I’d say profits are down probably around 10 or 15 percent this year because of the cost of cups, sugar, lemons, and potatoes,” said Sanders. 

A majority of those running food stands said they are absorbing most of those costs this year instead of raising prices.

“It impacts our bottom line. We just don’t make as much money as we have in the past, because we have to absorb the costs,” Sanders said, “There’s only so high you can go before people just turn away and they won’t buy.”

Despite rising expenses, many Canfield Fair vendors have not raised prices for the 2025 season. 

Some have cut higher-cost items from their menus to save money. 

But so far, vendors said they are pleasantly surprised with the turnout and sales they've made as of Thursday. 

“It was jammed in here this morning,” said Yvonne Andrews, chief cook at Double A Concessions, “It was pretty much jammed.”

For USA Pan, a first-time vendor at the Canfield Fair, rising steel costs forced a 9 percent price hike on their aluminized steel baking pans, but they said they've had success in their tent as the fair has gotten underway. 

“This is our factory outlet sale that we’re trying for the first time,” said John Bundy, principal at USA Pan, “We said, ‘Hey, we’re an hour and a half away from Canfield.’ So we brought a truck up, unloaded it, made a booth, and it’s been a tremendous success.”

Bundy said USA Pan supplies commercial-grade baking pans to some of the biggest names in food worldwide,  from McDonald’s hamburger buns to Wonder Bread and Pepperidge Farm products, but the retail side of the business has taken off, making the fair an opportunity to connect directly with customers.

The Canfield Fair runs through Labor Day.