Southeastern Wildlife Exposition President Jimmy Huggins was visibly tired but smiling late Sunday afternoon.

"It wasn't as bad as we thought," he said, slumped in a chair at expo headquarters at Charleston Place. "It was much better than expected."

GRACE BEAHM/STAFF Haley Chapman, 5, of Goose Creek feeds lambs Sunday at Eudora Farms' petting zoo at Ansonborough Field on the last day of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

A slumping economy and the uncertainty over a possible war with Iraq had many people nervous about this year's art show, which opened Thursday and ended Sunday.

"All the artists I talked to said they came to the show expecting the worst, and everyone seems to be leaving happy," Huggins said.

The expo, held the month before spring begins, is the biggest weekend draw of the year and serves as the unofficial gauge of the tourist season.

"I think if this is a barometer, then we're in for a good tourist season," Huggins said. "Going in I thought it was going to be really bad, but coming out, I feel much better about it."

Final attendance figures won't be available until today, Huggins said. Sales figures for this year weren't yet available, either, but he estimated art sales at $1.5 million, the same as last year but $200,000 shy of the 2001 tally.

Last year, when people were still wary of traveling after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the expo drew 30,000 people, who pumped $63.8 million into the local economy, according to the Charleston Center for Business Research.

"The mood of the country is still not good, so if we can just maintain what we did last year, which I think we did, I'll be very happy with that," Huggins said.

Several artists reported selling pieces for $35,000 and $40,000, Huggins said. In previous years, some sculptures sold for $80,000.

Art LaMay of Palm Coast, Fla., the expo's featured artist in 1986, said Sunday that he was satisfied. He figured sales would be about the same as last year, which were down 30 percent from the previous year.

"It went exactly like we thought it was going to go," he said in his display room at the hotel. "Until this thing gets turned around, this economy and this war thing or whatever we're going to do here, it's going to take some time."

This year's expo featured a number of free activities for families in Marion Square and Ansonborough Field, such as wildlife and performing dogs and falcons.

The events drew big crowds Saturday, according to expo officials, but were rained out Sunday afternoon.

Dave Munday can be reached at dmunday@postandcourier.com or 937-5720.