Neal Sanders

If you live outside of New England, you may look askance at county fairs and state fairs. Such fairs probably conjure up visions of gaudy midways with overpriced fried dough and games of chance. In the six New England states, however, they're part of the fabric of the region, with some in operation for more than 150 years. If you're headed to the region in the next seven weeks, here are my personal picks as the best of the New England fairs:

The Marshfield Fair, Marshfield, MA, now through August 29th. Compact, very crowded, but fun. A little suburban, but still all of the elements of a New England fair.

The Woodstock Fair, Woodstock, CT, September 3 - 6. Maybe the best of the small town fairs. The breaded oysters are worth a trip to New England all by themselves. Very agricultural in its perspective, very friendly to "outsiders."

The "Big E" Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, MA, September 17 - October 3. The biggest fair; actually, it's the state fair for the six New England states. It has the most exhibits and entertainment, the best midway. It also has that fried dough, but there's enough good stuff to look past the tacky parts.

The Topsfield Fair, Topsfield, MA, October 2 - 11. Founded in 1818, this is the grandaddy of all New England fairs and, along with the Fryeburg Fair, the best. Aggressively agricultural, it features tractor pulls, sheep dog trials, and cow milking contests. The congestion getting there is stunning, but once you're in, you'll happily stay all day.

The Fryeburg Fair, Fryeburg, ME, October 3 - 10. Going strong since 1851 for a very good reason: great food, great exhibits, and marvelous all-around fun. Have you ever been to a "society pig pull"? That's a greased pig contest, and Fryeburg has one. The sheep dog trials go on for three days. The french fries are made from potatoes that think they're still underground.

Others who read this forum may have their own favorites; these are the ones that stand out in my mind.

Robin

It will soon be summer, so...

Donna F

I love fairs and one of the most unique is the Common Ground Fair held at the end of Sept in Maine. No midway, no canned sodas; it's all natural and organic with great craftspeople selling their wares.

But keep your fingers crossed for 2001. Farms in NH have already started closing their doors to visitors because of the fear of foot and mouth disease. There is big concern about the safety of fairs this year.

Please

Congrats, Robin, you win the prize for digging up the oldest thread. Not only that, looks like nobody responded to the original post. Further, New England fairs begin in late summer and go into Fall, meaning this thread will be completely buried again by the time it is relevant. The only thing dumber than dragging up this thread is me repsonding to it, which puts it on top again. Oh, if only there was a way to send threads to the bottom!

Lizzie

Just to annoy the previous poster, who is unnecessarily malicious - and not very logical, as now is, in fact, the time to start making summer/fall travel plans.

I have always wanted to go to the Fryeburg Fair and to the Common Ground Fair. Hopefully Foot & Mouth won't be such a big threat come summer.

Chris

As a further annoyance to "Please", why must we all assume that the only "good" threads are those that draw 50 or 60 responses (excluding of course, dumb replies such as yours)?

please

I wouldn't have cared if this thread was brought to the top when topical. And Lizzie, I hardly think people across the nation are planning their summer travel plans around the New England fair schedule- do you really believe that? I should have expected this response from the Neal Sanderites. Meanwhile, while we go back and forth over a thread that should have died a year and a half ago, someone's legit real-time question gets buried further and further down. Congrats again.

Iwas

And, besides, Neal's ego probably needs a boost!

Lizzie

Someone's legit question about nude beaches, not traveling to China, or gameshows and TV shows? The whole point of this forum is for people to discuss things they are interested in. And if someone is interested in New England state fairs, good for them.

I did not say anyone would be planning his or her summer around state fairs. However, someone from California or Oregon who wished to visit New England in August or September could quite reasonably be planning out the trip now, in mid-April.

Dona

I went to my first New England fair in 1994. It was the Big "E", and it was just super. I was totally impressed with the entire fair grounds. Coming from the small state of Delaware, this was the Daddy of any I had ever been too. Hats off to the State of Mass.

xxx

Thank you for bringing this up. We lived in Connecticut for 11 years and went to the Big-E every year we could. Would love to take the kids but because we are farther afield now, it would require a day off school at the beginning of the school year. Boy do I miss it- maybe some year-
And NE isn't the only place with fairs. I grew up with the Grange Fair in Centre Hall, PA. It's a small local fair that actually has platform tents. There are families that have been camping there for years! It's a social event. People bring refrigerators, furniture, stoves- everything to their tents for the week. You wouldn't believe it. Like a whole little village.

Robin

Okay, I have to defend myself!

First of all, I found this thread precisely BECAUSE I was making New England summer travel plans! I guess "Please" will wait until mid-July, when his options will be limited to The Big Ball of String and that place along I95 in the south with the signs every two miles. More power to him.

Secondly, I read such an old post because the idea of visiting a local fair was appealing-- imagine that!

And finally, many people, myself included enjoy Neal Sanders' thoughts. I thought it was unfortunate that the original posting got no attention. I'm glad to see that someone besides crotchety old "Please" liked the idea as well!

Donna F

Robin, you will get some good New England travel info at Yankee Magazine's website www.newengland.com. And if you want to read about a man who raised working steers as a young 4-Her against his family's wishes who thought it was too old fashioned, do a search on 'Drew Conroy'. He still raises oxen, is a college professor and his work with cows and oxen take him all over the world as a member of Tillers International. Plus his old fashioned oxen have gotten him work in two movies (i.e. The Crucible). Hope you have a great summer vacation.

Loafer

I think it's interesting that people who live in New England seem so proud of where they live. I would be, too. I love it up there.
To "Please," I actually do take into consideration festivals and fairs when I make travel plans. I enjoy festivals of all kinds and it offers an excellent view of the locals just "hanging out."