The largest fair in the Northeast starts Friday. Vendors at the Big E were busy today making final preparations for the influx of visitors.
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The largest fair in the Northeast starts Friday. Vendors at the Big E were busy today making final preparations for the influx of visitors. 22News spoke with vendors from near and far, who are ready for a successful fair season ahead of them.
“It’s just a new adventure for us, so we’re looking forward to it,” said Courtney Carlson of Pottery Cellar in Westfield.
With just hours left until the Big E gates open, vendors were making final touches to their booths, before thousands of fairgoers arrived Friday morning.
“We came here early over the weekend and built a bulk of our displays,” said the owner of Pottery Cellar in Westfield, Dawn Whitehill.
Whitehill is one of many businesses set up inside the Better Living Center. It was her first time selling authentic Polish pottery at the Eastern States Exposition.
“We’re looking forward to meeting people, growing our businesses,” expressed Whitehill.
Another vendor from New York is also at the fair for the first time, ready to sell her herbal tea. She’s been setting up for the past two days, and hoping for big crowds.
“We don’t know what to expect and so the whole experience will be new to us which is exciting,” said Co-owner of Pixie Doodle Farm in New York, Erika Barbee.
Some of these vendors are just starting out, but many others have been coming back here for years. A Connecticut vendor has been coming to the fair for over two decades with three booths.
In their most popular booth, 3-D interactive puzzles that light up and play music.
“It’s nice to bring joy to someone and see them come back year after year, it’s nice meeting people,” said Joanne Askins of Gift Tick Human Resources.
Fairgoers can also shop at the Craft Common, Young Building, and Avenue of States. Located in the newly renovated Connecticut building is a new exhibit from the Connecticut Science Center and a shop CT experience.
Local News Headlines
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.