September and October are the months for the big agricultural fairs in the northeast. There’s the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Massachusetts, The Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, Mass, The Fryeburg Fair in Maine and here in New Hampshire the largest and best known is the Deerfield Fair
I haven’t gone to the Deerfield Fair since my kids lived at home but this year my daughter came up so that we could take Calvin, who at two years old is in love with anything on four legs or four very large tires. On both counts he was not disappointed.
The Deerfield Fair covers acres. The earlier you get there the closer you can get to one of the entry gates but we got there about one- o’clock so we hoofed it about a quarter of a mile before reaching the entrance.
There are dozens of events over the four days—tractor pulls, horse pulls, sheepdog herding and 4H events, plus all the usual fairway rides and food vendors.
I like to visit the exhibit halls. This is where the needlework and the flower arrangements and Grange displays are located. This year there seemed to be more empty display booths. The Grange is another agricultural organization that is on a decline.
Of course there’s the contest for the largest pumpkin—with entries coming from all of New England, New York and even Pennsylvania. The winning pumpkin weighed 1,843.50 lbs. I don’t remember which pumpkin was the winner—they were all enormous—I’m just wondering what the winner does with all that pumpkin after the fair. Hope they like to bake!
