Fine art from across the country, food and entertainment were the draws on Main Street last weekend.

And the sunny skies with temperatures slightly cooler than those in the Salt Lake Valley did not hurt, either.

It appears the Park City Kimball Arts Festival, held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, enjoyed strong numbers, the organizers said early in the week. The Kimball Art Center will not finalize attendance numbers for a few weeks.

Robin Marrouche, the executive director of the Kimball, said early estimates put the attendance this year at approximately 57,500. Attendance in 2011 was 55,000. She said the number of people at the festival on Friday and Sunday was especially strong. The Friday opening of the festival is free for Summit County residents.

“A very successful weekend for visitors and locals enjoying the best (that) Park City has to offer,” Marrouche said.

Marrouche said the Kimball’s marketing efforts have been successful as the festival has been turned into a three-day affair. The arts festival was traditionally held on Saturday and Sunday. Recently, though, the festival has opened on Friday evening, giving people another few hours to browse the artist booths.

The Kimball advertised the three-day festival as a chance for people to spend a long weekend in Park City. Marrouche said that line of marketing has attracted more people.

She also credited other not-for-profit organizations and businesses for scheduling events during the weekend of the arts festival. She said, as an example, concerts in the evenings kept arts festival-goers in Park City after they left Main Street.

“We wouldn’t have had that reach without their help,” Marrouche said.

She noted marketing opportunities between the Kimball and corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola and Key Bank. The Kimball and the Park City Chamber/Bureau advertised the event in Southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix, Marrouche said.

Marrouche had anecdotal evidence that sales were solid at the festival. She said artists told her Friday was particularly lucrative. Two jewelry makers told her sales during the arts festival were the best they had ever seen at a festival.

The 2011 festival generated $18.2 million in economic impact. Marrouche said the 2012 number could climb, with her hope that it reached $20 million. An economic report will be issued within a few weeks, she said.

Meanwhile, Marrouche said she was pleased with the layout of the festival this year, which put more activities in the Brew Pub lot at the top of Main Street. A chalk art demonstration and a display of Porsche automobiles were located in the lot alongside artisan food vendors from Utah who were nearby on Main Street. More people were drawn to the upper reaches of the street, she said, noting the change in the setup there from past years.

“I really liked the programs, the events, of the top of Main, instead of having a big stage,” she said.