Beautiful weather drew in area residents to the East Texas State Fair this past week.

Sunday marked the final day of the 99th annual event, which is a fundraiser for scholarships.

Preliminary estimates show an increase in attendance of 25 to 30 percent above 2013, primarily due to the weather, said John Sykes, president and CEO of The Park of East Texas, the 501(c)3 behind the annual event. The fair was rained out for two of its days last year — opening day and Saturday.

Last-minute fun seekers were still strapping into rides and munching on once-a-year favorites, and final attendance numbers were not ready, Sykes said.

Sykes said the midway was almost shoulder-to-shoulder Sunday evening, and that kind of activity is a large economic benefit to the area.

Sykes said the attendees are part of the reason the fair is special, adding several corporate professionals associated with contracted companies noticed how cordial the crowd was.

“When you bring 200,000 people together, you think someone is going to get mad at someone else, but his is safest place,” he said. “I’m proud of the behavior. People come out here and have a good time.”

The biggest draw to the fair is food, followed by the livestock show and finally the carnival rides, Sykes said. He said all of the added attractions also reported great attendance.

“Every one of our attractions this year have been packed,” Sykes said. “The Kachunga (and the Alligator Show) was standing room only. The (Wild About Monkeys) show was standing room only, (as well as the Extreme High) Dive show. The petting zoo (said) they are so thrilled — they can’t handle all the people that have come through it.”

J.B. and the Moonshine Band drew a big crowd, but Sykes said the fair would need to ramp up the music side next year.

Next year also marks the 100th East Texas State Fair, and organizers are brainstorming ways to celebrate. Sykes said the fair would love input from the community on what it would like to see for the big anniversary. Suggestions can be made on the organization’s Facebook page.

The end goal of all of the fair fun is to send students to college with scholarships. Sykes said the Park of East Texas has given away more than $500,000 during its history. Ten, $3,000 scholarships are given to prospective Tyler Junior College students annually, and a separate scholarship program is open to any college in the nation. The Park of East Texas also hosts the Academic Rodeo annually, which gives out scholarships to its winners.

“We are truly a nonprofit charitable organization,” he said. “We give scholarships every year.”