The Brooks Building, Big E, decorated for the 100 year anniversary
More than 1.4 million attendees helped celebrate The Eastern States Exposition’s Big E’s 100th anniversary, despite some inclement weather. Billed as the largest agricultural event on the eastern seaboard and one of the 10 largest fairs in the nation, this year’s attendance was the third largest ever recorded.
Lee Brice hands the International Entertainment Buyers Association's Industry Achievement Award to Eastern States Exposition's John Juliano, senior director of sales, marketing and entertainment; Anne Alise Pietruska, social media coordinator/senior writer and Gene Cassidy, president & CEO on Oct. 11, 2016. (VT Photo)
A recent study prepared for the Eastern States Expo by Regional Economic Models Inc., Amherst, Mass., found that the fair’s economic impact of $479 million comes with a gross regional product impact of $299 million a year. Final financial data was unavailable but John Juliano, Jr., senior director of sales, marketing and entertainment for Eastern States Exposition said, “Our food revenues definitely were up.”
The fair ran from Sept. 16 through Oct. 2, with admission prices ranging from $15 for adults to $8 for kids.
One of the highlights this year was The Eastern States Centennial: A Century of Greatness Exhibit, sponsored by Uncommon USA. This showcased historic items from the exposition’s archives, including trophies and ribbons, pennants, advertising vehicles and posters.
An exhibit at The Big E; in the black and white picture: Big E founder Joshua L. Brooks.
Also on display were letters from former U.S. presidents, a replica of the famed Skyride, Storrowton Village on a small scale, and Brooks’ family possessions donated by the late Grace Brooks Knibbs, granddaughter of the exposition founder, Joshua L. Brooks.
“This was a popular exhibit produced in-house that attracted between 50,000 and 60,000 people,” said Juliano. “We probably had a couple hundred artifacts that were original and reproduced.”
Another new exhibit, which was sponsored by Big Y Supermarkets, was Farm-A-Rama. This 22,000-square-foot space was designed to educate fairgoers about agriculture with a farm-to-family table experience. This included giant pumpkins; landscapes and floral designs; sheep shearing; cow milking on a model cow; Clydesdale horse demonstrations sponsored by Budweiser; a bee hive; and an exhibit on caring for dairy cows sponsored by the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion.
“We produced this exhibit in conjunction with Monster City out of California,” said Juliano. “It brought attendees from the corn, cabbage and potato fields into milk processing and a chick hatchery exhibit all the way to the family having dinner around the dining room table.”
Free concerts during the fair included Elle King; George Thorogood and the Destroyers; Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice; Gloria Gaynor; Mark Farner formerly of Grand Funk Railroad; Pure Prairie League; The Cowsills; Electric Equinox with Morgan Page and Stephen Bishop. Lee Brice was the sole paid concert during the fair, with ticket prices ranging from $29 to $39, which included fair admission.
“A big addition this year was a 100-foot wide by 106-foot long tent over one of the smaller stages, which provided great insurance against hot and rainy weather,” said Juliano.
New food locations for 2016 included the Wurst Haus, by the Student Prince, with Bavarian pretzels, Munich corn dogs, the German giant 18-inch bratwurst, fried Camembert, oompah music and handcrafted German beers served in a souvenir boot. Also debuting at the fair, The Deep South Food Co. offered po’ boys, chicken ‘n waffles, fried green tomatoes, barbecue and Southern-style cocktails.
Best-selling concession items included the new blueberry pierogi sundae as well as Navajo Indian tacos served folded in fried dough; chocolate and bacon-covered fries and bacon mac and cheese balls.
“The carnival was again run by North American Midway Entertainment (NAME), which had a very successful run with quality rides,” said Juliano. “In terms of revenue, we were even with last year’s figures.” The most popular of the 53 rides were the Blitzer roller coaster, Giant Ferris Wheel and Matterhorn.
“Opening day saw record attendance at Big E,” said Amy Girton, NAME’s director of communications and media relations. “There was much excitement surrounding the centennial celebration this year.”
Parking, which cost $10 per car, also went smoothly with the addition of new exit routes on the weekends, which helped expedite traffic. The main lot accommodates up to 9,000 vehicles and there is additional parking across the street from the fair grounds.
The New England Center’s Creative Arts department showcased handcrafted products in quilting, lace making, rug-hooking, doll making and knitting competitions. With nearly 300 more entries than last year, the department set a record with 1,295 total entries throughout all contests. Records were also set in the quilt-making category with 253 entries and the photography contest with 425 entries.
“We were all concerned about security this year, so this was heightened at the gates with bag checks and wands,” said Juliano. “There were no security issues and we attribute this to the added security measures taken in conjunction with the Massachusetts and West Springfield police departments.”
Next year’s Big E event, dubbed Big E 101, is scheduled for Sept. 15 through Oct. 1.
Interviewed for this article: Amy Girton, (765) 509-1169; John Juliano, (413) 205-5024