Stampede attendance down from last year

Fewer people are heading through the Stampede gates this year. As of Tuesday, 463,000 people had entered the grounds down about 26,000 from last year.

Jennifer Booth, Stampede publicity manager, saidthe economic downturn isn't the only factor.

"Because we are an outdoor festival, we are really at the mercy of the weather. So last year the weather was spectacular. I don't even think we had a day of rain. This year we have had some incremental weather," Booth said.

Slower food sales, some vendors say

Some vendorssay they're seeing fewer customers this year, while others say they haven't seen much difference.

Martin Cowan's barbecue stand is getting a bit less traffic. "Last year I sold out every day. This year I'm not really selling out."

Next door, vendor Jake Myran is seeing the same thing

"Yeah, usually we go through about 10 pounds of meat or more a day; we're only going through seven or so . . ."