FONDA — Hundreds of people cheered from the grandstand Monday as drivers turned old school buses into mangled metal during the demolition derby on the final day of the Fonda Fair.

Final figures won’t be tallied until later this week, Fair Manager Jake Sammons said, but he said early numbers indicate attendance for the fair’s 167th presentation should be close to last year.

Some vendors on Monday reported low sales and said the economy may be straining budgets to the point where people have money to get into the fair but little to spend on other things.

Vendor Rich Rytel of Castleton had a tent set up with sun glasses, hats, jewelry and trading cards, and said sales were dismal.

But the stuffed animals hooked up with a leash, which were selling for $10, seemed to be a hot item, Rytel said.

“Pets on a leash, that’s a real good seller. Ten [dollars] is the magic number, usually,” Rytel said.

The Fonda Fair was among several Rytel said he’s visited, and since he went to the massive Erie County fair, he said poor sales in Fonda probably won’t hurt him. He said an estimated 1 million people go to that fair.

“The Erie County Fair, that’s a whole year’s paycheck,” Rytel said.

Duane Millington from M & M Novelties & Gifts of Johnstown said near-constant sunshine didn’t help boost sales for him.

“The weather, it didn’t do it. Nobody wants to spend any money,” Millington said. Native American dolls and body jewelry seemed to be the biggest sale items, he said.

Millington, like other vendors on Monday, said he enjoys attending the fair despite low sales.

“It’s always fun,” Millington said.

Those with little money found a variety of attractions to view and for some, the fair provided first-time opportunities for children.

Three-year-old Devin Gushue shrieked with excitement when a pygmy goat started nibbling pieces of horse feed from the palm of his hand at the Animal Enterprises Inc. petting zoo.

“It’s the first time he had an animal eat out of his hand,” Devin’s mother, Debbie Gushue, said Monday.

Youths in Cornell Cooperative Extension of Fulton and Montgomery County’s 4-H program experienced a first themselves during competitions this year, said farmer Jennifer Phillips, superintendent of the 4-H dairy program.

The children are typically accustomed to showing one type of animal such as dairy cows or pigs, Phillips said. This year, they got a crash course on how to show several different ones, Phillips said.

The youths had three days to learn how to show dairy and beef cattle, swine, goats and sheep in order to vie for the “Master Showman” ribbon.

“It was really quite competitive,” Phillips said.

Victoria Subic, 12, took first place in the competition that 4-H hopes will encourage youths to expand their farms beyond their typical animals.

“I learned a lot, it was really fun” said Subic, who decided after the competition she wants to start caring for pigs and sheep.

“I’ve just got to get the [other] animals now,” Subic said.

Exhibitors are feeling a financial crunch themselves with high fuel and feed prices, Phillips said, in addition to taking a week off of regular work to show their animals.

“It’s all about the kids anyway. That’s the reason I do it,” Phillips said.