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Two types of fairs in New England come to mind when I hear the phrase, “fair season.”
The first being the fair I discussed in our July magazine – the Brimfield Antiques Fair.
The second, however, is my favorite type of fair – ones that have midway rides (dangerous,
or dangerously fun?), sugary – or fried – treats, bizarre exhibits (butter sculpture, anyone?)
and farm animals galore.
While some fairs begin in August, in my mind, September ushers in fair season. Perhaps
that is because West Springfield is host to the seventh largest fair in North America –
The Big E.
But before I get into a sweet reminiscence about fair-going, I would be remiss if I did not
promote our upcoming Go Local Marketplace.
Go Local is hosting our own fair-like event, filled with live music, food trucks, vendors
selling their wares, and of course, delicious drinks served up by Brew Practitioners – our hosts
for the afternoon.
We at The Reminder have hosted events before – Prime Life Senior Expo, anyone? But this is our first fun-filled outdoor event. We hope you’ll bring your friends and family and join us on Oct. 5 from 1-5 p.m. at Brew Practitioners in East Longmeadow. Get some Go Local swag, swing by some vendor booths, or sit back and relax to acoustic offerings with a beer in hand.
Now – back to matters at hand.
You know the phrase, “That’s my Super Bowl?” It is a metaphor used to express that something is important or significant to a person, like how the Super Bowl is the most important game in football.
Well – the Big E’s media taste event that takes place toward the end of August is MY Super Bowl.
Every year, members of our news team join droves of local media at the Eastern States fairgrounds to taste test all the new foods the Big E will be host to. Then we write about it. It is truly the best day of work every year.
A few highlights:
• V1 Vodka always brings their A-game with a new drink. Last year they shared color changing lemon drop martinis. The prior year they had delicious espresso martinis and dirty shirley’s.
• Ferrindino Maple brought their maple bacon hot dog last year – which many members of our team said was delicious.
• The Storrowton Tavern Soup Shack never disappoints. In 2019, they offered a cheeseburger soup which was to die for. I still talk about it to this day. In 2022, they made chicken pot pie in a bread bowl. It was heavenly. Going to the Soup Shack is a staple for me – especially if it’s a chillier day. The Soup Shack always promises a real meal that is genuinely delicious.
• I would be remiss, though, if I did not mention some of the deep-fried offerings. In 2019 the fair brought deep fried pineapple upside down cake on a stick. A year or two prior to that saw a deep-fried martini. I often wonder how many of those actually sold. And a year or two before that, saw fried butter. Why, you ask? I don’t know.
• I do not often try anything particularly unusual, but one year the news team did go on a quest to try the most bizarre foods of the Big E. This left me trying a smore’s cheeseburger. It had cheese, bacon, marshmallow fluff, chocolate syrup and a graham cracker crumble. I do understand that half the fun is being the organization with the most out-of-the-box food item, but gosh I could not stomach that burger. Too sweet for me – of course – but I know some people liked the combination of sweet and salty.
With family matters going on last fall, I did not get the chance to do any autumn-related activities. No fairs, no pumpkin patches, no apple orchards. Not even a whiff of a fall-scented candle. I’m looking forward to taking to the Big E in September, stopping by a local pumpkin patch to pick the perfect specimen to carve, and heading out to Echo Hill Orchards for some apples – or apple pie moonshine. Most of all, I’m looking forward to slowing down, enjoying the cooler weather and changing leaves. Have a great month, and thanks for reading!
Payton North, Executive Editor
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