Massachusetts Agricultural Fairs Connect Farmers and Communities
In partnership with: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
Agricultural fairs in Massachusetts date back almost to the origins of the commonwealth itself. Although fairs have evolved to bring more people to the midway and into the barns, agriculture remains at the heart of the commonwealth’s fairs.
“Originally, fairs were more like one-day cattle shows,” says Fran Pearson, agricultural fairs coordinator at Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. “The purpose of fairs then, as now, was to provide farmers and rural communities a chance to showcase their accomplishments and to educate the general public. People aren’t seeing farms as often today, so fairs give them direct interaction with farms and farmers.”
See more: Massachusetts Ag Education Cultivates the Next Generation of Agriculturalists
Martha’s Vineyard Fair
On Martha’s Vineyard, the fair celebrated its 162nd anniversary in 2024. The event originated for people to share agricultural information on what was working.
“We still do a lot of that with people bringing their vegetables, animals, flowers, foods and other things to exhibit and compete for premiums,” says Lucy Grinnan, program and outreach manager of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society, which puts on the annual livestock show and fair.
Except for the livestock, most of the nearly 4,000 exhibits, ranging from artichokes to quilts, are on display in the “new” Agricultural Hall. The hall, a wooden barn originally located in New Hampshire, was dismantled, meticulously tagged and brought to the island in 1994, where it was raised by hundreds of volunteers. Grinnan says the project is an example of the fair’s community support.
“Even though fair attendance tops 30,000 people over four days, it still feels small like a homegrown event,” says Grinnan, who notes the island’s ag roots remain as Martha’s Vineyard is still home to more than 40 active farms. “We’ve worked really hard to cultivate that while still celebrating what people have been growing and raising all season.”
See more: Massachusetts Farmland Preservation Programs Ensure a Future for Agriculture
The Big E
MDAR categorizes the 39 Massachusetts fairs into five types: grange fairs, livestock shows, youth fairs, community fairs and major fairs, such as The Big E presented by Eastern States Exposition.
The Big E is the only fair in the nation where more than one state participates. In fact, you can set foot in six New England states at The Big E if you visit the Avenue of States. On the avenue, a replica of each of the New England states’ original statehouses sits on land owned and managed by that state.
“This idea was originally conceived by the fair’s founder, Joshua Loring Brooks, to provide an opportunity for the New England states to feature their commodities,” says Gene Cassidy, president and CEO of Eastern States Exposition.
In the Massachusetts Building, visitors will find more than 40 vendors offering products either made or manufactured in the commonwealth.
“For example, for the maple products, everything is made with sap harvested here,” says Pearson, who also serves as building manager. “We partner with Valley Malt to showcase locally grown and produced beer.”
Finding and expanding markets for agricultural products were founding tenets of The Big E.
“We continue to do that to this day,” Cassidy says. “We produce some of the most important competitions in the country, particularly in dairy cattle and sheep, where competitors come from as far as Oklahoma and Minnesota. And we have contests for cheesemaking, winemaking and cidermaking. This helps agriculturists create markets for those products.”
A century ago, founder Brooks believed in developing and showcasing New England agriculture.
“We have embraced that mission and stuck to it for 108 years,” Cassidy says. “Ag is under tremendous pressure, and that makes our
role all the more important.”
See more: Massachusetts Grown and Fresher Promotes Local Products