Big E - 2023

 photo by JT Lynch

It's that time of year again!  Visit New England's great state(s) fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts.  Behind the fife and drum corps band are some of the six replica statehouses from each New England state.  That's Rhode Island peeking out from behind the tree, and Massachusetts next to it.

It's a little end-of-the-summer world and for many of us, a family tradition.  Enjoy!

Amherst Railway Society Train Show - West Springfield, Mass.

JTLynch photo (2019 event)

The Amherst Railway Society presents its annual model railroad hobby show this weekend on the fairgrounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts.  It is a fantastic event not only for model train enthusiasts but a delightful outing even for anyone, as the eye-catching train layouts and villages are spread out over four separate buildings on the fairgrounds.  For more information, have a look at their website here.

JTLynch photo (2019 event)

Selling my books - at the Fall Craft Fair - Chicopee, Massachusetts

I’ll be selling my books at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Granby Road in Chicopee, Massachusetts, on Sunday, October 21, 2018.

I’m very happy to be taking part in the St. Joan of Arc School P.T.O. Fall Craft Fair.

There will be a variety of vendors selling their craft items for the upcoming holiday season, and my twin brother John and I will have a table for our books.  Please come down and say hello, have a look around, and maybe even get a jump on your holiday shopping.  There will also be a raffle, and lunch options and baked goods will be available.  Come out and help the P.T.O. support the students!

The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, October 21^st.  The K of C Hall is at 460 Granby Road, Chicopee, Mass.

See you there!

Sistine Chapel Artwork Exhibit at the Big E - West Springfield, Massachusetts

 photo by JT Lynch

The best exhibit at the Big E this year is the must-see artwork of Michelangelo.  A show of copies of his restored work on the Sistine Chapel is currently on tour, and the Eastern States Exhibition fairgrounds are the lucky hosts of a smaller version of this exquisite art exhibit.  From the website of the production:

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition

For more information,  follow the exhibit on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The exhibit is produced by Special Entertainment Events (SEE), a L.A.-based exhibition production company which acquired the worldwide rights to the fresco reproductions. The photographs were taken post-restoration of the ceiling; in some cases, color enhancement was necessary to match the images for consistency.

photo by JT Lynch

The highlights of the frescoes are presented in their original size. This innovative interpretation of the timeless masterpieces can be viewed up close, including The Creation of Adam. It has previously made stops in Montreal, Vienna, Shanghai, Dallas, Munich, and New York.

photo by JT Lynch

On display in the Young Building, we are able to see the master's work close up as we never could at the Vatican in all its majesty in that setting.  The administrators of the fair are to be congratulated and most sincerely thanked for obtaining this exhibit.  More such artistic and cultural displays in the future would be a splendid addition to New England's Great State Fair.

Model Railroad Show - West Springfield, Massachusetts

 

 

This weekend is the model railroaders' big event of the year - the annual Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show.  A universe of train layouts is spread out over four buildings on the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds.  The event attracts thousands every year, and is one of the most enjoyable outings of the winter season -- even if you're not a model railroader. 

 

There is something decidedly nostalgic, not only in the hobby, but in the towns through which the little trains run.  You step back into time, and everyone is greeted with a smile.  The dates and location are here:

 

 

Saturday January 30, 2016 - 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday January 31, 2016 - 10:00am - 5:00pm

The show is located in the Better Living Center and the adjacent Young, Stroh and Mallary Buildings at:

The Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds
1305 Memorial Avenue
West Springfield MA. 01089


You can read more info on the Amherst Railway Society site here.

  

 

There's even something for old movie buffs like me.

The Budweiser Clydesdales Drop In for a Visit - Chicopee, Massachusetts

It was a quiet afternoon, just about suppertime.  A few of the neighbors went outside to stand by the road.

 Because it isn't too often that the Budweiser Clydesdales pulling that big old beer wagon comes down your street.

Not that anybody was filming a commercial or anything, but they just happened to be in the neighborhood.

This is Chicopee, Massachusetts.  As most New Englanders know, the Eastern States Exposition, or the "Big E" as we call it, the annual state fair for all of New England's six states is currently going on across the Connecticut River in West Springfield.  The Budweiser Clydesdales always show up for that.

Why they made a detour in this neighborhood first is because one of the neighbors, the guy who lives across the street, won a contest. His prize was  a case of Budweiser beer, to be delivered like this.

 

Not usually something that happens in this neighborhood around suppertime.  So folks came out to have a closer look.

 It resembled an impromptu block party, and for a little while, it was as cheerful and friendly as a holiday family gathering.

Then it was time to go.

Everybody went home and had at lot to talk about at supper.  The winner of the prize wasn't the only winner that day. 

Congratulations to Mr. Thomas Peloquin, who won the prize raffle sponsored by the Williams Distributing Company of Chicopee.

More from the Big E - West Springfield, Massachusetts

Lunch time.

 

Charming contestants.

 

Suppertime.

 

Cheering for hatching chicks louder than you've ever heard at the Super Bowl.

 

A newborn gladiator.  He'll be cuter in a little while when he dries out and

gets all yellow and fluffy.  Aww.

The Big E - Through Sept. 29th.

It's time for the Eastern States Exposition, or Big E, in West Springfield, Massachusetts, known as New England's "Great State Fair" in which all six New England states participate.  It runs every day  through Sunday, September 29th this year, so you've got plenty of chances to grab that caramel apple, that clam fritter, that Maine baked potato, that new gadget they're demonstrating you just can't do without, or yet another map of Vermont. 

Have a look here at the official website for more info on exhibits, contests, and attractions.

And food vendors.

See you there.

Massachusetts Old State House - Original and One Copy

A copy can sometimes tell its own original story. We mentioned the Avenue of States at the Eastern States Exposition a couple of weeks ago in this post. Above is the replica of the Old Massachusetts State House.

Here is the original. Built in 1713, it was the scene of the debate for Revolution by men such as John Hancock, James Otis, John Adams, and Sam Adams. Just outside its door one terrible night, the Boston Massacre roused a colony to rebel.

There had once been the figure of a lion atop the building’s façade, with a unicorn on the other side. These were symbols of the British monarchy. They’re not here now.

But you see them on the replica at the fairgrounds in West Springfield, which was built in 1919.

The Old Statehouse served until 1798, when the new one was built, and this building was turned over to a variety of uses, such as Boston’s city hall, a merchant exchange, and shops. Since 1881 when the Bostonian Society restored the building, it has served as a museum, one of the stops on the Freedom Trail.

The replica, back in western Mass., is noted for selling quantities of maple syrup during the fair, and for this unwieldy but impressive replica of The Mayflower.

No massacre occurred outside its door, but there are quite long lines during the fair. We may have a different sense of hardship in the 21st century.

For more on the Old Statehouse (the real one), have a look at this website.

The Big E - West Springfield, Massachusetts

For those of you who can't get to West Springfield, Massachusetts for the Eastern States Exposition (the "Big E"), here's a quick trip around the fair.

The Big E, for those of you beyond New England, is a state fair in which all six New England states participate.  An iconic signature of the fair is the Avenue of States, where replicas of the original statehouse buildings of each state are popular attractions.  Inside, information, local food (see lobster, chowder, maple syrup, pies, etc) and manufactured products are on display and for sale. 

Think of it as a kind of Epcot Center for New England, where you can travel all the six states in an hour or two.

There is also Storrowton, of course, another permanent attraction on the fairgrounds with actual 19th century buildings restored and re-created here as a New England village.

The rest of the fair is food and livestock, prize-winning vegetables, handicrafts, artwork, cooking demonstrations, and miracle mops.  Try to get here if you can, the fair runs until October 2nd this year.

For more on the Big E, have a look at this previous post, and at the official website here.

Union Meetinghouse - Storrowton Village

The Big E is underway and in full swing, but taking a break from the bustle of the crowded fairgrounds, we have a look at one of the quieter spots of the Eastern States Exposition, the Union Meeting House at Storrowton Village.

For those not from New England, the Exposition is an annual regional, rather than a single state fair, representing all six New England states. (See this previous post on the Eastern States Exposition.)Storrowton Village is a re-creation of a 19th century New England village common on the fairgrounds with representative buildings placed around it to illustrate what life was like in such a place, at such a time. The “Village” may be fanciful, but the buildings are not recreations. They are actual historic buildings moved here as part of a project headed by Helen O. Storrow, and were collected from 1927 to 1931.


This church is the Union Meetinghouse, built originally in cooperation between four separate denominations in the Smith’s Corner section of Salisbury, New Hampshire in 1834. These denominations shared the building between them. It was moved here to the Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts in 1929. The pulpit, and the bell, are salvaged from other churches in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Today, wedding ceremonies may still be held in this non-denominational church. The steeple towers over the village, and vies with the nearby Ferris wheel for attention. The Ferris wheel is only temporary, though. The church weathers the centuries, and the fairgoers, with equal fortitude.

For more on Storrowton Village, have a look at this website.

Taking the High Road to Scotland

The names of the towns on this sign remind us of the influence of the British Isles on the much contested hunk of geography that came to be called New England. Scotland, Connecticut, for one, was settled first in 1700 when Isaac Magoon bought land, and in 1857 the Town of Scotland was incorporated.

You don't need to travel to the original Scotland for a highland fling. Scotland, Connecticut hosts its Highland Festival every Columbus Day weekend. Isaac Magoon might not even be able to tell the difference.

For more on Scotland, Connecticut, have a look at this website.

Eastern States Exposition

The Eastern States Exposition, or the Big E, runs from September 12th through the 28th this year. Above is a shot from the top of the Ferris wheel looking north towards Mt. Tom. The Big E illustrates not only the culture, products, and heritage of the six New England States; it also illustrates the phenomenon of what happens when tens of thousands of people converge upon an otherwise quiet town. As you can see, the fairgrounds is an island in a sea of Western Mass. green.

West Springfield, Massachusetts is the annual location the Big E and has been since its founding in 1917. Through the decades, through the boom of the 1920s when agriculture was becoming mechanized, through the Great Depression years, the wars, the eras which passed and made up our lives, the Big E has been one constant feature that begins our most celebrated New England autumn.


Here is a photo which marks one such event from a Big E and an autumn long ago: the Hurricane of 1938. The photos marks the high water point of the flooding on the fairgrounds. This Friday we begin a three-part series on the Hurricane of 1938.

Here is a link to the website of the Eastern States Exposition with information on events, exhibits, admission and times. Folks from all over New England (and even some of them outlanders from beyond) meet up here. I hope you can, too.

King Richard's Faire - Carver, Mass.

Tomorrow begins the opening of King Richard’s Faire in Carver, Massachusetts. The knights on horseback shown above are ready to joust. The late summer air is filled with anticipation, excitement, drama, the scent of mulled drink, roasting fowl, and the sound of madrigals. Whether you be a comely wench or a noble squire, come all you down to southeastern Mass. and join the revels.

It’s the 27the season of the annual fair, running eight weekends until October 19th. In keeping with the costumed performers and merchants and artisans selling their wares, many of the fairgoers themselves dress in costume. If you’ve come empty handed, you can always rent one there. One of the sweetest things I saw at this fair, apart from little girls dressed as princesses, was the rough-looking biker dude who pulled off his motorcycle helmet, and plunked on a soft cloth jester’s cap with bells on it before going through the admissions gate. Hail and well met, Sir Biker Dude.


If you’ve ever felt like lustily chomping on a roast turkey leg and being as messy as King Henry VIII, or just enjoy a pleasant afternoon under a grove of trees in New England in late summer, join the peasants and the thieves, and the pirate queens, and the highwaymen, and the village idiots, and the executioner, and mostly, King Richard himself, at King Richard’s Faire.

For more information on the fair, kindly have a look at this website.