Big E at 95: Rooted in agriculture, family friendly and big on food fun

Avenue of States remains popular attraction for fairgoers.

Republican file photo by DON TREEGER Wayne McKenney of Lancaster, Ma. enjoys a smoked turkey leg on the last day of the 2010 Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield. .

Rides.

Concerts.

The Big E.

That’s right, a favorite fair in West Springfield is back through Oct. 2.

The Eastern States Exposition opens its doors once again, offering food, entertainment and a variety of vendors.

The 17-day fair, which begins every year on the second Friday after Labor Day, is 95 this season.

It was founded by Joshua L. Brooks in 1916, and developed as a result of Brooks’ concern over challenges to farming in New England with the rise in production costs.

According to The Big E’s web site, Brooks’ “hope was to create an Exposition that would provide demonstrations of new farming methods and establish competitive awards which would inspire farmers and their children to produce more efficiently and sponsor cooperative purchasing that would lower the farmers’ costs.”

Brooks, with the help of community leaders, acquired the former swampland where the Eastern States Exposition now resides on 175 acres.

Noreen P. Tassinari, exposition marketing director, notes the event’s roots as a “showcase for agriculture and industry.”

“We continue to have very strong agricultural programs that agricultural folks strive to be a part of.”

Tassinari has worked for the exposition for 30 years. She said it has always provided a number of educational opportunities for visitors in terms of programs, contests and events. Youth groups include 4-H and Future Farmers of America.

“We bring agricultural news to the urban and suburban fairgoer,” Tassinari said. “She said youth get to learn about “the origins of milk and where it comes from; not the container.”

“We have a chick hatchery, where they can witness chicks being hatched all the time, and a number of exhibits designed to educate the importance of agriculture in their lives.”

According to “Eastern States Exposition: 1916-1996 An Illustrated History at 75 Years, “the all-purpose fair” opened to the public in October 1917 as the Eastern States Exposition and Dairy Show with 138,000 fairgoers. It wasn’t until 1968 that the fair was officially dubbed “The Big E.”

With the exception of interruptions made by World War I and World War II, the fair has been an annual tradition.

Favorite venues among fairgoers include the Avenue of States, which features “replicas of each original New England state building” with signature products inside each.

According to the Big E’s website, “Joshua Brooks wanted the Exposition to be a truly regional event. He believed that to achieve this, each of the six New England states should construct a building that could display both its character and its products.”

The construction of all the buildings would take about 38 years to complete, and founder Brooks, who died in 1949, never saw the completion of his dream.

Massachusetts was the first building on the Avenue of States with a replica of the Boston State House in 1919. Maine was finished second in 1925 then Vermont in 1929. New Hampshire followed in 1930 and Connecticut in 1939. Rhode Island was the last and finished in 1957.

Republican photo by DON TREEGER Martyn Chabry, quick change illusionist, finishing her performance on the final day of last year's Big E.

“We’re the only fair in the country to have involvement with more than one state,” Tassinari said.
Tassinari added, “Each state owns its building, they own their land and they have the opportunity to reach out to many people about tourism,” Tassinari said

She also said traditions like horse shows date back to the fair’s founding. She said a new “warmed-up arena” was built this year for participants in the horse shows.

The Big E has “grown exponentially since our founding” Tassinari said. “Throughout the past nine decades we have made changes to appeal to the people today,” Tassinari said, adding “people love to throw their diets out of the window when they come to the Big E.”

“We’ve done a lot of survey and market research, people love to come for the food, Avenue of States, entertainment and animals.”

Free entertainment was introduced in 1967, with Diana Ross and the Supremes performing at the fair.

According to the book on the exposition, “attendance was poor since most people couldn’t believe that such a great name in recording and television could possibly be seen without special admission prices.”

Admission price to the fair includes all of the entertainment except for some headline performances on the Comcast Arena stage.

Recalling her own childhood memories, Tassinari recalled “riding the merry-go-round when I was about six. I also remember when I was a little older, I saw the Cowsills, the musical group, perform at the Big E.”

Other performers over the years Tassinari said have included Johnny Cash, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Bob Hope, Destiny’s Child, Jessica Simpson, Tom Jones and Fergie.

Headliners this year include Darius Rucker on Sept. 23, Blake Shelton on Oct. 1 and Reba on Oct. 2.

This year’s free shows include the U.S. Freestyle Motocross National Championship Series the first three days of the fair. Other popular attractions include The North American Midway, the Mardi Gras parade and, of course, the food.

Don’t forget the Mardi Gras Parade or the Circus; not to mention the food. Who could forget the 2009 hit — the Craz-E Burger.

The fair, said Tassinari, is about “providing a great family experience at a value” while focusing “on customer service from the time they park their car to when they leave at night.”

For more information, visit the web site www.thebige.com