The Big E is Back! — Ringing In Fall at the Big E

The Big E is back. As many of you know, in 2020 the Big E didn’t happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it was back, but face masks were required when entering buildings. Personally, I wore it outside.

Last weekend, my boyfriend Eric and I boarded the Hartford Line and headed to Springfield. The Hartford line takes you directly into Springfield, and there is a free shuttle taking you directly to the fair. Even though we nearly missed our train in my frantic search for Starbucks (your girl needs coffee, and didn’t know that they are actually busy on a Saturday morning. Who knew?), we were ready to eat everything fried, and just enjoy the fair.

We arrived at the fair late morning, and immediately headed to some of the state buildings. For those of you who are not familiar with the Big E, it’s basically the Big East, and celebrates New England. There are state buildings for Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Massachuettes, New Hampshire, and Vermont, fair foods (oh we’ll get to that in a minute), and a ton of exhibits and vendors.

After heading out of Vermont, we (okay fine me) were hungry. So, we got our first fried delicacy of the day — fried pickles from the vegetable stand. We enjoyed them, and then walked around some more, making note of the foods that we wanted to enjoy and when and potential souvenirs. This isn’t the first time that we have been to the Big E. Eric and I went back in 2019 pre-Lucy, and I went the year prior with a friend. So, we had a little bit of a game plan.

After eating, we continued to explore. We headed to the other state buildings, and did some light shopping.

What I Ate:

Okay, what everyone talks about the Big E is the food. Needless to say, if you choose to go next year, I’d call it a cheat day. Eric and I had fried pickles, fried Kool-Aid, buttered corn, and cookie dough on a stick. This is a fraction of the food that is available. There was delicious donuts, apple cider donuts, fried Tacos ( and countless other things), and so much more. What is unique is that in addition to the fair delacies, the state buildings offer some of their finest delacies, such as Maine Potatoes, New Hampshire Mac n’ Cheese, and of course, Ben and Jerry’s in Vermont.

Overall Experience:

It was honestly so nice to be back at the Big E. Everything felt back to normal for the most part, other than a few vendors here and there that did not return. We basically walked around, enjoyed the food, and the exhibits. We also had a chance to hear some of the live music, despite not being in the arena. There were a lot of vendors as well, so it was fun to explore that.

We spent a good part of the day there, eating and just walking around before heading back home at 5:30. And, honestly, it felt so good to have this tradition back in my life again.

Do I recommend?

The answer is, yes. I love the food, the history and the vendors. It has become a tradition for both my boyfriend and I, and is honestly just a really fun date day, or a day to do with friends.

Have you been to the Big E before? Let me know in the comments below.