Hutchinson ? Although they won’t have final attendance figures for two to three weeks, officials of the Kansas State Fair feel this year’s 10-day run was a success.

“My gut feeling is that we’ve done well,” said the fair’s manager, Denny Stoecklein. “It’s been an exciting fair. Just overall it seemed like people who came had a good time.”

Stoecklein was shooting for attendance of 350,000 for the fair that concluded Sunday. Last year it drew 343,244, just above the 10-year average of 342,281. Through Saturday, carnival numbers were up 7.6 percent over last year, and concession sales for the first half of the run had increased by 13 percent.

The fair rolled out a new marketing campaign this year, aimed at drawing a younger crowd while maintaining the traditional appeal of the annual attraction. Stoecklein said he expected the fair would renew its contract with the Wichita-based Greteman Group, which created the campaign.

There were also new improvements and attractions on the grounds, built as part of a $29 million renovation project that remains incomplete. New this year was the Prairie Pavilion, a 92,000-square foot beef barn, and a revamped Pride of Kansas building.

REO Speedwagon and .38 Special, which drew 5,561, made about $31,000, but the other shows made only a slight profit or showed a loss, Stoecklein said.

“We even lost money on the Oak Ridge Boys,” Stoecklein said.