Sunshine, unique food and Ludacris helped bring in more attendees to opening weekend of The Big E in 2024 than the year before.
There were a total of 275,444 fairgoers in West Springfield from Friday-Sunday, with a record 121,854 attendees on Saturday.
Although the fair had more attendees on Friday and Sunday during 2023′s opening weekend, it had less people overall with a totaled 273,040 fairgoers.
This year was also larger than 2021′s opening weekend, which had about 268,500 people.
It was only beat out by 2022′s opening weekend which had nearly 287,000 people visit the West Springfield fairgrounds between Friday and Sunday.
The Big E was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Big E is considered one of the largest fairs in the U.S. and Canada, according to Carnival Warehouse.
It was named the third largest fair in 2021. However, by 2023 it was the seventh largest fair in the U.S.
Thwarted by rain, increased prices and parking woes, The Big E had a decline in attendance in 2023.
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.
The number of fairgoers doesn’t just mean the amount of people who enjoy things like cream puffs, rides and shopping, it also reflects how much the Eastern State Exposition can do 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. After 30 years working there, Cassidy predicted the nonprofit would end up with a net income of $2.5 million after 2023′s fair. In a good year, it will top $4.5 million, he said.
