Good Times Review: The Big E, West Springfield MA

Agricultural art is only the start of what you'll find at the Big E.

 

The road that leads through the Big E

Here it comes, folks!  Each year in West Springfield Massachusetts, the Eastern States Exposition, affectionately known as The Big E, consumes 17 days of life in that part of the state.  Self dubbed “New England’s Grandest Fair” the Big E is a BIG DEAL.  While open for business for those 17 days, the preparation for this fair goes on all year long.  With full time staff and specialized buildings on the grounds, the actual fair days are the culmination of hard work done by so many people that you can almost sense a cumulative sigh of relief at the end of day 17. 

This year’s Big E beings on September 14^th and ends September 30^th.  Tradition rules here.  Each of the six New England states has its own building on the Avenue of States.  The buildings are bona fide brick and mortar replicas of each state’s original state building.  Inside, the state’s finest products and places are celebrated.  There are of course the things you would expect from each state, based on its history and lore, like maple products in the Vermont building and clam chowdah in the Massachusetts building.  There are also many vendors whose products stretch your perception of their state.  In the Connecticut building last year, I had some crunchy, cheesy, savory brick oven pizza.  The guys set up behind the New Hampshire building had the best kettle corn on the avenue.  I tasted lobster ravioli in Massachusetts and bought some really cool pottery in Vermont. 

Vermont pottery

Each state’s building also has tourism information.  That’s where I come in.  I went to the Big E last year for my tourism work, spending the better part of two weeks there in the Maine building.  I’m not sure that this is the case for all the states, but the Maine building is operated by our Department of Agriculture.  This is a true agricultural fair, as I’ll show you later on.  The Maine building’s vendors had products that included our traditional lobster rolls, whoopee pies, blueberry cobbler, and what I think is the biggest food hit of all, the baked Maine potato.  My organization’s booth was set up across from the potatoes and the line to get one was out the side door the entire time.  The line was so long, and the tradition of getting a Maine baked potato so entrenched, that the building operators have had to add a queuing area outside, complete with an awning for protection from rain and sun.  you can get that potato covered with sour cream, bacon, cheese, chives, or loaded with all of them.  Smoked salmon on a stick was also available.  Fine art paintings and beautiful silver jewelry could be yours, too.  

The Maine building on the Avenue of States

The buildings house specialties from each New England State, like lobster rolls in Maine.

The fair has special events and parades every day.  Each state gets a day of its own, and then there are days that salute the local towns, Agawam, Westfield, Springfield and Chicopee.  4H day, Harvest New England Day, Salute to Girl Scouts are planned for this year. 

 

As you would expect with an agricultural fair, there are the animals.  The animals come with their people, the kids and teens who work all year to be able to show here.  Cows, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, the whole barnyard is a-coming.  I went into the Mallary Complex last year and was simply stunned at the number of goats in the building.  Rows upon rows of pens with little goats and big goats, some shorn, others not, the sounds of their rustling and communication just deafening, each of them sporting some insignia or ribbon to announce their success.  Apparently, that was when the goat competitions were scheduled.  In the next days, the animals and the people changed over in a smooth transition. 

looks cozy huh?

Room for the whole barnyard!

Another part of the agricultural aspect of this fair is the produce.  This is where you can check out the giant pumpkins and blue ribbon winning berry pies.  I’m not sure exactly what the competition is built around, but there are beautiful presentations of garden vegetables.  Gorgeous fanned peppers balanced with purple skinned new potatoes and wedged in with bright carrots, the displays are art, or as I like to refer to it, food porn.

Here are a few of the photos I took at last year’s fair:  

Chicks hatching with supervision

Piglets born at the fair

A big winner

 More agricultural art:

Buildings on the grounds, such as the Better Living Center and the New England Center have demonstrations and crafts, gadgets and bargains.  There’s a Super Circus, an Auto show, a petting zoo, and you can even check out a butter sculpture.  There is so much to see and take in, you’ve got to plan at least a whole day. 

And I haven’t even touched on the food . .  yet.  Let’s just go with this:  Deep . . . Fried . . things I didn’t even think you would fry.  Now of course I’ve seen or heard of or tried quite a few deep fried things in my life.  There are things here that I need to study further, like deep fried – get this – kool aid.  Deep fried – yep – BUTTER.  How do they do that?  Okay, so not in the mood for fried food?  How about barbeque or dessert?  The Big E has two historically significant desserts – the crème puff and the éclair.  I’m not sure how they came to be such traditional treats here but the lines for them make it clear that they’re fabulous.  Put them on my list for this year’s fair food.

The Big E also has a never ending midway, with games and rides, and each year brings in some big names for concerts at the Comcast Arena Stage.  This year’s stars are Billy Currington, Jeff Dunham, and Alan Jackson. 

I’ve used the word “tradition” a lot in this post.  I’ve done that on purpose because tradition here goes way beyond the fair’s events and other draws.  What I’ve found, from the years I lived in southern New England to the discussions I had with people at last years show, going to the Big E is a tradition in itself for many families.  People take vacation days and plan family reunions around this fair.  I heard lots of “oh I’ve got to get my baked potato” like the day wouldn’t be complete without it or without seeing the butter sculpture or getting a crème puff or visiting the Maine building just for a whiff of home (I did that!) or participating in the parades or working the parking lots or spending too much money and buying things you don’t need (I did that, too) but having a great time while you’re there.

SO GO!  Spend the day at the Big E.  Come to the Maine building and say hi when you’re in line for that baked potato, too!  Make it a tradition for your family.  Schedules, daily events, and lots of fun can be found at www.thebige.com