More than 1.4 million people attended The Big E in West Springfield in 2023, making it one of the largest fairs in the U.S. and Canada.
Carnival Warehouse compiled a list of the top 50 largest fairs in the U.S. and Canada. The Big E, one of two fairs in New England to make the list, was seventh.
The other New England Fair to make the list was the Topsfield Fair, also located in Massachusetts, which was 43rd.
The largest fair was Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which had more than 2.4 million attendees.
While some fairs saw record breaking attendance records in 2023, The Big E saw an attendance decline as the season was thwarted by rain, increased prices and parking woes.
Overall, 1,427,234 people attended the fair, The Big E officials reported the day after the fair closed.
While that’s no small number, it’s less than recent years.
Nearly a decade ago, The Big E set a record of 1,498,605 fairgoers. However, it was beat in 2017 when the fair welcomed 1,525,553 guests.
The following year it continued growing, welcoming 1,543,470 people.
And in 2019, it set a new attendance record for the third straight year in a row as 1,629,527 people visited The Big E.
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But the COVID-19 pandemic put the growth to a halt, closing the 17-day fair in 2020. The fair started in 1916 and had only been closed or put on hold twice before, once during World War I and when it was canceled for five years during World War II.
“Please know that this decision was not made lightly. In fact, it was one of the hardest decisions we, as an organization, have had to make in modern times,” Gene Cassidy, president and CEO of the fair, said at the time.
- Read more: Big E finishes fair with huge crowd, but didn’t completely recover from multiple rainy days
When the fair returned in 2021, it was named the third-largest fair in the U.S. with 1,498,774 people attending that year. Although it was a dip from where the fair was at in 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and a mask requirement at the fair, Cassidy was impressed.
“Astoundingly, we beat Minnesota this year,” Cassidy said in the announcement. “The Minnesota State Fair is a benchmark in our industry and attracts visitors from all over the state and beyond. We have waited 105 years for this.”
A year later, numbers were continuing to get back on track as 1,603,354 people attended The Big E. The Big E was the fourth largest fair in the U.S. and Canada in 2022.
But for 2023, the numbers fell again and The Big E placed seventh on the list.
Some fairgoers were turned off by rain, others weren’t interested in paying more expensive admission prices and some turned back after getting stuck in hours-long traffic.
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Fewer fairgoers doesn’t just mean fewer people got to enjoy things like cream puffs, rides and shopping, it also means the Eastern State Exposition can do less over the next year, Eugene J. Cassidy, president and chief executive officer, told The Republican.
Keeping the fair alive and thriving is especially vital for farmers, since the awards they receive means they can sell and breed their cattle at a higher price and helps improve the lineage of the animals.
“The value is they can share and exchange best practices,” he said.
About 87% of the Eastern States Exposition budget comes from the fair and after 30 years working there, Cassidy predicted on Sunday the nonprofit would end up with a net income of $2.5 million. In a good year, it will top $4.5 million, he said.
Still, The Big E managed to break four daily records for the biggest first Tuesday, second Wednesday, second Friday and the last Thursday, said Catherine Pappas, spokesperson for the fair.
The Big E returns to West Springfield Sept. 13.
