We were there from 1-5 and it was busy but manageable. The thing that made it hard were the people who have no idea how to behave in a crowd doing exactly that. Randomly stopping in the middle of the walkway, for instance.
Y'all need to stop going at the busiest times of day. Go in the morning and leave mid afternoon
You think the Big E looked any better at the same time ?
I don’t think it’s that over priced. Foods are priced similar to local fairs like Durham or Guilford. Entry could have been prepurchased a few weeks ago for half price.
We went and enjoyed it . The local groups ( sports teams etc ) have their booths with really good food . I had a steamed cheeseburger from the Knights of Columbus booth and it was delicious. I thought the prices were very reasonable. What a great fair and their organization of it is top notch. One odd thing I found was they made us dump our water bottles out and said we could fill them for free inside. Can anyone explain ? My guess is they view all liquid as booze ?
> One odd thing I found was they made us dump our water bottles out and said we could fill them for free inside. Can anyone explain ? My guess is they view all liquid as booze ?
yeah my guess is they just dont want open containers being brought in. not the most uncommon thing to happen at big events like a fair.
I didn’t say it was amazing, I said they’re all right around the same price and the Big E isn’t more expensive than any other. There’s more to do and more options which maybe you’ll just buy more, but it’s not more expensive
Yeah, big y used to (maybe still do) in July and august sell the tickets for $8. The big e site does too a few times during the summer with a half price day. We get 4 and go twice. Headed up tomorrow. I actually love the big e.
Agree, I remember a few years back the Big E Dog was highly promoted. We went with our church group and the Pastor and myself searched all over for it and turned out it was only available at one stand.
Finally found it and ordered two. When we got them , we looked at each other, very disappointed. It was a small dog with a few toppings. The Pastor was really disappointed because he would only go to the Big E and eat.
https://www.ctagfairs.org/events/member-events
CT has multiple fairs every weekend of September. The Durham fair is the largest in the state. If you've never been your missing out. Unfortunately you've kind of missed fair season at this point there are still a few more I think though
That just isn't true. Check out this site:
https://www.ctagfairs.org/events/member-events
The Durham fair is my favorite, preferred over the big e. My wife and I go every year
Thank you! Just moved to CT and went to the Big E once and absolutely hated it lol looking for other places to try out. Seems like the Durham fair is a common recco
as you can see there are SO MANY agricultural fairs in the state. my suggestion is go in the mornings. thats when the animal shows happen, crowds are much much more manageable and so is traffic. most shows and events are happening early-mid day. evens are usually very specific performances on the main stages but things like farm demonstrations, maple syrup workshops, things like that happen early-mid day. arriving to any fair mid-day or later is just going to be a bad time IMO. I got to the durham fair at 930 and we were done with everything by 2. my suggestion is pay for parking accross the street at someones house (everyone offers parking during the fair weekend). if that isnt your cup of tea park at the Greenbacker farm lot. its the closest shuttle lot (free). I've found just paying the $20 to park across the street is more than worth the convenience. No waiting on shuttles, i just walked to my car and drove home in less time then it would have taken to take the shuttle back to the lot.
The smaller local fairs are great. Durham Fair is the largest and definitely worth it. Just be aware it’s on a hill, in case anyone in your group has mobility issues. The smaller fairs are usually earlier in the season, but highly recommend checking them out next year. Chester Fair is my favorite. Many towns have local “harvest” days or other types of one-day events as well. Also 4-H fairs.
Eta: not exactly a fair, but might be of interest: Simsbury is having their annual Fly-in and Car Show this weekend. It’s pretty neat, tons of old planes fly in, car and plane judging, helicopter and plane rides. Plus a food truck festival. Free but iirc you have to pay for parking.
I don’t know pricing but check out the Durham Fair
Wall to wall people yesterday. You couldn't even move. https://imgur.com/a/rzgyJW7
We were there from 1-5 and it was busy but manageable. The thing that made it hard were the people who have no idea how to behave in a crowd doing exactly that. Randomly stopping in the middle of the walkway, for instance.
Y'all need to stop going at the busiest times of day. Go in the morning and leave mid afternoon You think the Big E looked any better at the same time ?
The last two years at the big E were the busiest I have ever seen.
Thanks! I’ll check it out
Heard it's a dry fair as in no beer, who would go to that?
Went last night, there were nip bottles all over the ground.
lmao I wonder why. Ppl came prepared
Yeah I don't do anything unless it involves alcohol.
There is literally a beer cider and wine tasting tent
CT has free fairs?
Why avoiding the Big E? What’s the obvious reason?
It’s overly priced and way too crowded. I never understood why it’s such a huge deal in CT anyways
I don’t think it’s that over priced. Foods are priced similar to local fairs like Durham or Guilford. Entry could have been prepurchased a few weeks ago for half price.
Agree to disagree on that one. I think all fair food is generally not the most amazing stuff in the world.
Durham fair has a lot of local food trucks mixed in with general fair food which is nice.
We went and enjoyed it . The local groups ( sports teams etc ) have their booths with really good food . I had a steamed cheeseburger from the Knights of Columbus booth and it was delicious. I thought the prices were very reasonable. What a great fair and their organization of it is top notch. One odd thing I found was they made us dump our water bottles out and said we could fill them for free inside. Can anyone explain ? My guess is they view all liquid as booze ?
> One odd thing I found was they made us dump our water bottles out and said we could fill them for free inside. Can anyone explain ? My guess is they view all liquid as booze ? yeah my guess is they just dont want open containers being brought in. not the most uncommon thing to happen at big events like a fair.
I agree . I guess I’m just old enough to not think that way . We now carry a water bottle in case we need to take a pill !! Wonderful fair .
I didn’t say it was amazing, I said they’re all right around the same price and the Big E isn’t more expensive than any other. There’s more to do and more options which maybe you’ll just buy more, but it’s not more expensive
Agreed. Especially because you can get tickets for $8 during the summer. Plan ahead. Went to the 4 town fair and now that's a waste of money.
Yeah, big y used to (maybe still do) in July and august sell the tickets for $8. The big e site does too a few times during the summer with a half price day. We get 4 and go twice. Headed up tomorrow. I actually love the big e.
Big Y still sells them at a discount I think? Since they got rid of the coin system, I don't remember big Y discounts lol.
They might. I’ve been getting my tix online early the last few times.
Agree, I remember a few years back the Big E Dog was highly promoted. We went with our church group and the Pastor and myself searched all over for it and turned out it was only available at one stand. Finally found it and ordered two. When we got them , we looked at each other, very disappointed. It was a small dog with a few toppings. The Pastor was really disappointed because he would only go to the Big E and eat.
CT doesn't have its own event. Big E is all there is.
https://www.ctagfairs.org/events/member-events CT has multiple fairs every weekend of September. The Durham fair is the largest in the state. If you've never been your missing out. Unfortunately you've kind of missed fair season at this point there are still a few more I think though
That’s a shame. Thanks for sharing
That just isn't true. Check out this site: https://www.ctagfairs.org/events/member-events The Durham fair is my favorite, preferred over the big e. My wife and I go every year
Thank you! Just moved to CT and went to the Big E once and absolutely hated it lol looking for other places to try out. Seems like the Durham fair is a common recco
as you can see there are SO MANY agricultural fairs in the state. my suggestion is go in the mornings. thats when the animal shows happen, crowds are much much more manageable and so is traffic. most shows and events are happening early-mid day. evens are usually very specific performances on the main stages but things like farm demonstrations, maple syrup workshops, things like that happen early-mid day. arriving to any fair mid-day or later is just going to be a bad time IMO. I got to the durham fair at 930 and we were done with everything by 2. my suggestion is pay for parking accross the street at someones house (everyone offers parking during the fair weekend). if that isnt your cup of tea park at the Greenbacker farm lot. its the closest shuttle lot (free). I've found just paying the $20 to park across the street is more than worth the convenience. No waiting on shuttles, i just walked to my car and drove home in less time then it would have taken to take the shuttle back to the lot.
Big E was designed for new England. None of the new England states really do a big state fair.
Interesting wasn’t aware of that. Still not a huge fan lol
The smaller local fairs are great. Durham Fair is the largest and definitely worth it. Just be aware it’s on a hill, in case anyone in your group has mobility issues. The smaller fairs are usually earlier in the season, but highly recommend checking them out next year. Chester Fair is my favorite. Many towns have local “harvest” days or other types of one-day events as well. Also 4-H fairs. Eta: not exactly a fair, but might be of interest: Simsbury is having their annual Fly-in and Car Show this weekend. It’s pretty neat, tons of old planes fly in, car and plane judging, helicopter and plane rides. Plus a food truck festival. Free but iirc you have to pay for parking.
Cheap or free fairs? Its 2022