FRYEBURG – Summer-like weather provided the backdrop that made the 2007 Fryeburg Fair one of the best attended in its 157-year history.

Sunshine and temperatures in the 80s dominated the eight-day agricultural fair, the state’s largest and last of the three-month fair season in Maine. The week’s only rain began falling after 4 p.m. Saturday, the biggest day, and continued on and off throughout the evening.

Fair President Roy Andrews described it as a “tremendous fair,” that saw “great crowds every day. Folks really seemed to be enjoying themselves, and there was plenty to see and do.” Shorts and T-shirts were the dress for most days compared to what used to be an overcoat fair dominated by traditional fall temperatures.

In terms of numbers, this year’s fair was the fourth best. The total paid attendance for the week was 185,247, down about 2,000 from last year’s attendance of 187,608. The best year came in 2004 when nearly 200,000 people bought tickets to the fair.

The second best was in 2001, which had a daily paid attendance of 189,235. There were 184,983 in 2000 and 184,533 in 2002. Fair officials double the daily paid figure to come up with an estimate of the total number people attending the fair.

Those numbers don’t include lifetime memberships, seniors on Tuesday, children under 12 and pass holders.

As the fair grew over the past two decades, people got used to seeing new records broken. Barry Emery, head of the ticket department for the past 32 years, said that era may have come to an end.

“I think it’s going to be like this ever year until we can figure out a better way to handle traffic,” said Emery, who has more than three dozen people in his department. “I don’t blame people thinking twice about coming to the fair when they sit in traffic for hours trying to get here.”

The strong attendance each year is testimony to the fair’s ongoing efforts to provide new attractions and entertainment while improving what is already here, Andrews said. The quality of the more than 4,000 animals shown is validated by the numerous judges hired from around the country. Beef judges came from Indiana and Georgia, the dairy judges from Maryland and New York, the sheep judges from Missouri and Wisconsin and the draft horse judge from Wisconsin.

Andrews praised the judges for giving explanations on what they were looking for and how they arrived at the champions. He also met with dozens of visiting dignitaries from fairs around the country that came to Fryeburg to see how Maine’s finest fair operates.

Attendance for the week saw 26,147 on opening Sunday (record 29,995 in 2001); 23,649 on Monday, Woodsmen’s Day (record 26,017 in 2004); 12,935 on Tuesday, (record 17,014 in 2006); 16,745 on Wednesday (record 20,125 in 2001); 19,699 on Thursday (record 19,764 in 2001; 27,882 on Friday (record 30,396 in 2004); 37,799 on Saturday (record 46,834 in 2001); and 20,391 on the final Sunday (record 27,652 in 2000).

Opening day was up over last year, Senior Citizens Day down and the final two days below 2006. For the other days, attendance was comparable.

Harness racing had a strong week, posting a total handle of $821,387. The amount bet over six days of pari-mutuel racing in 2006 was $852,970.

For additional information, results and photos from the dozens of competitions in the livestock, Woodsmen’s, pulling and other areas, visit www.fryeburgfair.org in the coming weeks.

Next year’s fair runs from Sept. 28-Oct. 5.