Many vendors and the Geneva Chamber of Commerce said that attendance and profits were down for this year’s Swedish Days Festival.

Gordon Hard, president of the Rotary Club’s Geneva chapter, said funds from the Rotary’s food booth were down about 30 percent this year. Hard said he thought the early heat played a big factor.

“There weren’t the numbers like there were last year,” Hard said of working the booth. “But last year, the summer was unbelievably pleasant. ... Just compare the weather conditions.

“When it’s hot, the appetite isn’t there for food,” Hard said. “It’s more there for cold drinks; that’s what we’re attributing it to.”

Craig Neader, former president of the Lions Club Geneva chapter, handled the finances for this year’s festival. He said funds for the group’s booth were down about 25 percent compared to last year.

“It got better as the weather got better,” Neader said. “But it was no where near the level (it) should have been.”

Neader, who serves as president of the Neader Financial Group in Geneva, said he believes the blame should go to the state of the economy, first and foremost.

“The heat coupled with everyone being scared of the economy, those two were a toxic combination,” Neader said.

Neader said that of the 12 or 13 years he has been going to Swedish Days, this year had the lowest attendance.

“If we had weather throughout the festival like we did Sunday, we would have done fine,” Neader said. “It’s hard to gauge the economy. People don’t want to admit that it’s hurting, but it is.

“We would have loved to have raised more because every penny goes to charity,” Neader said. “Charity is what suffers the most with this.”

Geneva Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jean Gaines said the Chamber doesn’t have the exact attendance numbers from this year, but they know it was down.

“Certainly not-for-profits saw people didn’t eat as much with the heat,” Gaines said. “But this festival is great PR for us, and the sense of community is wonderful.”

While the weather is always a gamble, Gaines said she hopes next year’s economy will be stronger.

“We’re hoping the economy will be stronger for many reasons,” Gaines said. “Sponsors will come back. Crowds will have an easier time spending.”

Despite this year’s struggles, Gaines said she considers this year’s festival a success.

“The streets were filled,” Gaines said. “Certainly thousands more than you would see on a regular week in town. Everything went together smoothly. From that standpoint, by the way we look at things, it (went well).”