In a matter of days, one of the biggest fairs in the country will be up and running again in western Massachusetts. The Big E brings well-over a million people to West Springfield each year – with many hoping to taste new carnival culinary feats. WAMC got a preview of some of this year’s newest fair foods.
Have you ever had a deep-fried, stuffed pepper on a stick? What about a creemee sundae fused with apple pie? Regardless, best not to count calories when hitting the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds as The Big E returns for over two weeks, starting Sept. 12.
Plenty of music, rides and festivities are on the docket – so are the fair’s array of food items, including new additions and old standbys.
Speaking the Big E food preview day on Thursday, Aug. 21, Tim Gartska, the Exposition’s director of marketing and sponsorships, says there will be at least 90 new foods offered this year – from vendors near and far, but especially near.
“Each one of these people behind me: they're all family businesses, and it's critical for them to be successful when they're here,” he said of the nearly 20 vendors behind him.
This year, Agawam’s Macho Taco will be serving their “Deep Fried Chile Relleno,” a deep-fried poblano pepper filled with ground beef, cheese and jalapeno peppers that comes with queso fresco and chipotle aioli.
Co-owner Evelyn Barajas Diaz tells WAMC that this dish, along with their al pastor street tacos, continues the restauranters’ love of fusing cuisines.
“We take pride in making all of our stuff from scratch and being different, offering street food, but with a little twist to it,” she explained. “We find fusions that we like and ... bring them to you guys.”
Another fusion is close by, brought to Hampden County by the Burlington, Vermont-based Broccoli Bar. Clad in a broccoli costume and crocheted broccoli head hat, co-owner Trevor Sullivan says his operation offers up a lot of green in the form of “The Big Sexy.”
“The Big Sexy comes with the tempura … some stir fry broccoli, some dumplings, some sticky rice, some barbecue dry-rubbed broccoli, and a golden milk curry,” he explains. “It's just a big, beautiful bowl of all of these different types of broccoli, but you don't feel like you're eating just broccoli. It's a really great, full, well-rounded meal if you want something to keep you going all day at the Big E.”
Of course, if you’re getting dinner at the fair, you might as well get dessert, too.
Palmer’s Steaming Tender boasts a “Whiskey Bread Pudding” this year complete with a “velvety custard” and the restaurant’s “secret whiskey sauce.” Elsewhere, Westfield’s Crave Café is offering a “Strawberry Dubai Cup” and sweet crepes.
Then there’s Ferrindino Maple with its Warm Apple Maple Creemee Sundae.
“It’s a warm, apple pie filling, topped with our homemade maple creemee ice cream, and then topped with toasted oats and drizzled in our dark, organic, certified maple syrup, made locally in Hampden and Wilbraham, Massachusetts,” explains Jerry Ferrindino.
There’s also the official Big E Cream Puffs. Big E Bakery’s owner, E.J. Dean, says this year’s espresso flavor gives you an “extra kick” when walking about the fairgrounds.
“Every ounce of this is just one sweet item after another - it's the ultimate decadence at the Big E. It's the most-known, it's the most traditional item at the fair, and we're excited,” he said of the iconic pastry and other bakery offerings. “We still have our traditional cream puffs, we still have the ganache toppings, but the espresso is our new twist. Last year, we had cookies and cream … we've tried multiple flavors and the espresso … it's gonna rock 'em.”
He adds over the run of last year’s 17-day fair, the bakery pumped out well-over 100,000 of the treats.
With such a variety of cuisine, the Big E attracts plenty of foodies, including food influencer David Milton (@thedamgram on Instagram), whose tastes are admittedly braver than certain radio reporters.
“That MooNug ice cream – they do it every year. That chicken nugget ice cream was great,” he said of the dessert being offered by Southwick’s Moolicious Farms. “I just tried the [NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar] ribs… then we also had some lobster nachos, which I thought were really good. I'm usually a little iffy with seafood and cheese, but [New England Craft Pub] did a nice remoulade sauce with a lobster bisque and a little bit of cheese…”
It’s all, in-part, what the Big E’s all about, says Eastern States Exposition President and CEO Gene Cassidy – spotlighting not just farmers and growers from across the country, but what local eateries do with that food.
“The Eastern States (Exposition) spends a lot of time and effort to try to help build business and incubating new businesses is important to us, it’s part of our charter, we've been doing this for 110 years,” he said. “We do it with industry and manufacturing, and we do it with food.”
The Big E begins its latest run on Friday, Sept. 12. A full list of new foods and vendors at the fair can be found here.
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A version of this piece originally aired on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. Paragraphs involving dates have been updated to ensure timeliness.
