SEDALIA - The annual party on the State Fair grounds wasn't as big as 2009. The State Fair ended Sunday night and Monday fair officials said they believe attendance will be down from last year.

"I'd say we're going to be down eight to ten percent, but I think that's kind of to be expected. We had really good crowds last year, some really beautiful weather so our attendance was up over the year prior," said State Fair Director Mark Wolfe.

Fair officials plan on announcing the official numbers Wednesday.

Even with the decline, fair and carnival employees still have a large clean-up.

"Its busy just like it was before the fair, everyone is tearing down today, obviously there is a massive clean-up operation going on," Wolfe said.

"Its hectic, its rough," said carnival employee Jennifer Arndt.

And the hours for Arndt and her co-workers are long.

"I've been up since five this morning, or yesterday, sorry and we opened at noon, we closed at nine and we haven't been to bed yet," Arndt said.

"Its got to be a pretty rough life I would think. Those guys work so hard," said Wolfe.

But Arndt says there is something about the fair that makes it all worth it.

"The kids smiling, the laughter makes it worth it," said Arndt. "Sometimes its better than the paycheck, I mean really just seeing them laugh, just warms your stomach."

Arndt said it will take about 22 hours for her and her crew to finish breaking down and cleaning up their area.