Good day, faire organizers. I remembered this method when I was looking at some pictures of the 4 Winds Faire near Tyler, Texas about 10 years ago.
You can increase your patron numbers by inviting nearby National Guard and Reserve units to your event. You can give them a discount at the gate and ask them to invite their families. There were a lot of people in uniform one of the days when I was there.
Good luck and Godspeed this year!