The Minnesota State Fair has set a record for first-day attendance.

Organizers say 114,439 people came through the fairground gates on Thursday. That’s about 10,000 people more than last year’s fair.

The fair’s longtime general manager, Jerry Hammer, said the warm, sunny weather helped attendance, which he expects to remain strong throughout its 12-day run.

The “Great Minnesota Get-Together” ends Labor Day.

In 2008, the total attendance was just shy of 1.7 million, up 12,000 from 2007.

Cooler-and-less-humid-than-usual weather this year — August is usually muggy — could result in high attendance.

The state fairgrounds were selected in 1884 on the site of the Ramsey County Poor Farm.