WEST SPRINGFIELD — Fresh raspberries from Nourse Farms in Whatley.
Part of a giant cookie made with local grain by Ground Up Stone Milled Flours and Valley Malt in Holyoke.
Wings from the Bone Sauce in Shrewsbury.
Big E vendors know the path to Gov. Maura T. Healey’s heart.
“All the food,” Healey said Thursday afternoon before strolling the Massachusetts Building on the Avenue of States on Massachusetts Day at the Eastern States Exposition. “They are going to surprise me.”
At the replica statehouse, or in the shady picnicking area behind it, she, Lt. Gov. Kimberly Driscoll, got a chance to sample all of the above. Healey also took a few swings with a bat made by Rutto Bats in Holyoke and accept soap from Amy Mitchell of Amy’s All Natural in Palmer.
Healey and Driscoll let a retinue, including West Springfield Mayor William Reichelt, Chicopee Mayor John Vieau, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, former Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle, now commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield.
“I just encourage more people to come and check it out. It’s this amazing, amazing experience, and it’s an amazing asset for our state,” said Healey, a Democrat now in her first term.
Both college basketball players, Healey and Driscoll shot some hoops at a court set up at the fair to promote the annual Hooplandia 3-on-3 tournament at the Big E.
The fair, which began Sept. 12 and runs to Sept. 28, no longer shares daily attendance figures following some criticism last year about overcrowding.
The fair broke its all-time record in 2024 with more than 1.6 million visitors over the 17 days.
This year, the fair has come very close to matching last year’s records on some days, said Eugene J. Cassidy, president and CEO.
Reichelt said crowds were slightly down in the fair’s first full week.
“But talk to the vendors,” he said. “They are happy.”
Cassidy said that by timing discount tickets to slower, mid-week days and changes in promotion, he’s tried to encourage more people to visit on slower days.
And he’s doing a good job of it, Healey said. Crowds strolled past as she spoke.
“That’s what I want. I want so many people coming here, taking this in because it is a great take,” she said. “And that means people are excited. That means there’s good energy.”
The Big E and its other events held at the Eastern States Exposition grounds generated $1.167 billion in economic activity last year.
It’s one reason Healey enjoys promoting the Big E.
“That means there’s money for our local economy. Right, mayor?” she said to Reichelt.
Dairy farmers Darryl and Lucinda Williams of Luther Belden Farm in Hatfield were among the farmers in front of the Massachusetts Building.
Milking about 180 cows and farming 350 acres in the Connecticut River Valley, the Luther Belden Farm, now run by their son, is in its 13th generation tracing its roots back to 1661.
“Most of our days are spent farming,” Lucinda Williams said. “This is our one chance to get out and talk to our customers.”
Darryl Wiliams said it’s important to carry the message of family farms and how they preserve land and water, employ people all while providing delicious and nutritious milk and other dairy products.
The state is down to just 100 dairy farms, he said, down from 300 or more just a few years ago.
“It’s challenging,” he said. “We’re grateful for all the state does.”
Healey returned the gratitude.
“We love our farmers and we put a lot of money into investing in our farmers in Massachusetts,” she said. “We know how important they are to our economy, the jobs they provide, the families that they feed. And so today’s the day we celebrate our farmers. I’m looking forward to going in and meeting some of them.”
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