All the state's flag-waving, band-playing, cowboy-and-carnival, red-white-and-blue summer celebrations have a real silver lining.

Last year, Casper's Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo attracted more than 34,000 participants from outside the area, who spent anywhere from $70 to $130 a day per person, depending upon whose numbers you choose to use.

A parking lot survey identified vehicles from everywhere in the U.S., except for a few states on the East Coast.

"Otherwise, we had cars from every state in the Union and cars from every county in the state," said Kurt Box, CEO of the Casper Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We really like the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo," he added. "There's so many different aspects to it, and so you get those difference audiences."

In terms of direct spending, Box said hotels, motels, restaurants and retailers are the primary beneficiaries.

The fair, which wrapped up on Saturday, includes livestock exhibits, a rodeo, carnival rides and dances.

A 2004 study of Cheyenne Frontier Days estimated more than 79,000 out-of-town people visited the event, with total participation at all events of over 500,000 (which includes residents and multiple counting).

Direct spending was calculated at $22 million, which supported 387 jobs and a direct payroll of $3.3 million.

A study by Smith Travel Research found big increases in hotel occupancy and room rates. In 2007, the annual average hotel occupancy rate was 68.2 percent, which jumped to 84.1 percent in July. At the same time, the annual average room rate was $75.97, which climbed to $113.32 in July.

Billed as the world's largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration,the "Daddy of 'em All" is held the last full week of July.

Even small towns get a bump from summer fairs and other festivities. Mike Willard, executive director of the Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce, said the Ten Sleep Rodeo and Parade held over the Fourth of July puts extra cash in the local tills.

"That always brings quite a little crowd into the area," he said, including people who have been returning for years.

"It's almost a tradition," he said. "They may no longer live here, but they come back to Ten Sleep for the Fourth of July."

Willard said the area's biggest summer draws are the Wyoming State Barbecue Championship and Bluegrass Festival, and the NoWoodStock Music Festival.

This weekend's Moorcroft Jubilee included a parade, a 1950s-style band, a car show and a street dance. Chamber of Commerce President Susan Millard said the event draws a good crowd from Gillette, in addition to local people.

In 2007, the Wyoming State Fair and Rodeo drew 49,300 visitors. The figure includes paid grounds admissions, ticketed events and estimates of exhibitors and spectators for a period when admission wasn't charged.

State Fair Director James Goodrich expects 2008 traffic to be similar to last year, given the interest expressed thus far in fair activities.

The great unknown is the impact of record-high fuel prices.

"I think we may get more locals that offset long distance no-shows due to fuel costs. I would say some of the larger county fairs, as well as Frontier Days, may tell the story," Goodrich said.

The Wyoming State Fair and Rodeo will be held Aug. 9-16 in Douglas.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.