Except, not this year.
It was to be expected, and it's for the best, but still disappointing.
The Big E as a ritual is almost as sacred to me as Halloween itself. I have gone nearly every year for as far back as I can remember. Even though I now live on the opposite side of the country, I've made plans nearly every fall for a visit back home that includes a day at the fair.
To me, the day I attend the fair is the first official day of Autumn. What's so great about this particular fair, you might ask?
Well -- there's LOTS to love. For one things, it's HUGE, one of the largest in the country - the 6th largest to be exact, and the only multi-state fair that exists. Last year it had 1,629,527 visitors!
It celebrates all of the New England states, each of which has its own special building to show off its local attractions, vendors, businesses, and food. And that's only the beginning.
There are several large exhibition halls, rides, crafting vendors, a giant slide, hundreds of food choices, wine tastings, live concerts, farm animals, parades, historical spots, and more. One day is never really enough to see it all. Someday I hope to have the time and money to get a season pass so that I can take my time and really have a thorough enjoyment of everything.
When I was a kid, the ritual of going to the Big E went like this - my folks would pick up my brothers & I from Catholic school, and bring us a change of clothes (since we had to wear uniforms), then we would head straight for the fair. We'd stay til as late as we could, a special treat for us when our usual bedtime was around 8 PM. We'd share some food, go on a few rides, see the animals, maybe catch part of a live concert or ride the giant slide.
When I got to be high school age, I got the chance to be more independent and explore with my friends. I distinctly remember one Monday morning, it might have been my sophomore year of high school, when classes were unexpectedly cancelled due to a power outage or something. My mom asked if I wanted to bring a friend with me to the Big E and spend the whole day there, so I called up one of my best buds at the time. We rode together with my parents but were allowed to go off and do our own thing right up til closing time.
When I got to be an adult, The Big E became a thing I did with my BFF - we'd pick a weekday to go, get there sometime in the morning, and stay til we were too tired to walk anymore. We've always had our specific things we have to do each year, like get a baked potato from the Maine building when we first got there, or go to certain craft vendors.
Anyway - this series of posts will be a love letter to the best and greatest Fall Festival ever! Coming up next time: CRAFTS AND SHOPPING AT THE BIG E
No comments:
Post a Comment