Hutchinson ? Blue ribbon winners will take home more prize money from the Kansas State Fair this year as organizers seek to boost the number of contest entrants and turn around faltering attendance numbers.

Fair officials announced the campaign, dubbed “Got Blue – Get Green,” last week.

“It’s what makes a fair a fair,” Lori Mulch, the fair’s assistant general manager, said of the competitive exhibits. She also said she hoped the campaign would entice more urban residents to enter.

Fair officials began searching for ways to increase attendance shortly after last year’s event ended. With 324,705 patrons, the 2005 fair attracted one of the smallest crowds in decades.

Debbie Anderson, the fair’s competitive exhibits director, said residents showcase about 30,000 entries each year. She wants to see the number of entries grow in every competitive division at this year’s fair, which runs Sept. 8-17.

Help will come from an additional $20,000 the Kansas Legislature has appropriated to step up premium awards, which totaled $218,723 last year.

Fair officials also are benefiting from another $50,000 legislative appropriation, which will be used to boost marketing efforts. Much of the campaign is aimed at luring more Hispanic fairgoers.

“We are doing a lot of extra radio,” fair manager Denny Stoecklein said. “We’re doing billboards in Hispanic areas, and we’ll have a mariachi band playing the second weekend as an incentive.”

For those thinking about staying home because of soaring gas prices, fair officials have a solution: a fuel promotion giveaway. The Kansas Ethanol Producers and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council have already committed $4,000.

Stoecklein said he also hopes a Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest and Red Hat Society Day attract bigger crowds.