NNJRaifan, the upcoming Christmas season may have had something to do with it. One other thing, what was the weather like on the days of those shows? It's been my experience with train, gun, and antique shows that the attendence is best on days where it's too nasty to do anything outside, but not so nasty it keeps people inside.
But that's not a hard and fast rule. The last show I went to several weeks ago was on a fine fall day, and the attendance was very good. Lots of families were there. Which was good, if I go to a show it makes me nervous if I'm "The Kid" at 65!