OXFORD – About 30,000 people went through the gates of the Oxford Fair last week, upping its patronage by more than 15 percent from last year’s numbers.

Oxford Fair Treasurer Lance Bean said the fair has attracted more and more people each year as word spreads about its attractions.

“I think the word is getting out, and people are seeing there’s something worth seeing,” said Bean. “People want to be there.”

Bean said the fair has been growing steadily in the past few years. Before this year’s increase, patronage had grown 25 percent from 2005 to 2006, he said.

While the invoices are still coming in, Bean said it costs about $500,000 to put on the fair each year.

“We’re talking about operating costs. That doesn’t include debt service,” he said of items such the mortgage on the race track.

Bean, who has been involved with the fair for the past 10 years, said things have not always been so good.

“There’s been some financially tough times. I don’t know if it was ever a question of continuing. It was a matter of finding what type of show we could afford. People worked hard to get the new (race) track on ground and add new buildings. We couldn’t have done it without public support,” said Bean.

Fair President Suzanne Grover said this year’s fair was a huge success.

“It went beautifully. It’s just a pleasant thing to happen in this area,” said Grover of the fair that offers everything from children showing their 4-H projects to senior citizens tossing fry pans.

“It improves every year. There were record crowds,” she said.

The 162nd annual fair featured several new items including the 60- by 220-foot 4-H livestock barn and the new track-side betting parlor, complete with monitors and lounge.

The fair’s roots date back 162 years. It has run continuously during that time except for a brief suspension in the 1960s when it was moved from the present high school fields on the Norway/Paris town line to its site off Pottle Road in Oxford.