As the 43rd iteration of Sun ‘n Fun opened on Tuesday morning, the show’s management reports that vendor attendance is the highest in the show’s history and is up 25 percent from the 2016 numbers. Sun ‘n Fun director John “Lites” Leenhouts told reporters Tuesday morning that he sees increased participation as a sign the economy has turned a corner.
“This is a huge boost,” he said. Of the 510 total exhibitors, 85 are new to Sun ‘n Fun, according to Leenhouts, and all are aviation related and not the housewares and hardware vendors we’ve seen at some shows in the past.
On the negative side, an intense line of weather blanketed northern Florida on Tuesday morning and isn’t expected to reach Lakeland until sometime Wednesday or early Thursday. That will delay the arrival of pilots flying from just about anywhere in the U.S. “If they aren’t south of Ocala now, they ain’t coming,” Leenhouts said. As a promising indication of attendance, traffic into the show was backed up to County Line Road. So if you’re attending Sun ‘n Fun, plan on arriving in the early a.m.
