If you attended The Big E or the Topsfield Fair this past fall, you were in good company.

Both Massachusetts fairs ranked among the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, according to Carnival Warehouse. The list was ranked by attendance.

“2024 contained very positive indicators that North Americans have rekindled their romance for midways, outdoor shows, agricultural programming and food-on-a-stick,” wrote Carnival Warehouse on its website. “Most fairs saw increases over last year’s attendance, only 12 top-50 fairs saw decreases, most of which were nominal and all of which were due to weather.”

The Big E (the Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield ranked No. 4 with an all-time total attendance record of more than 1.6 million visitors. Seven other daily attendance records were also set this year at The Big E, including an all-time single day attendance record of 178,608 visitors on Sept. 21. The Topsfield Fair, at No. 40, saw 418,170 visitors.

Running since 1916, The Big E is New England’s biggest fair. The fair brought live musical acts, carnival rides, agricultural competitions, and food vendors this past September. All six New England states are famously represented on its grounds.

The Topsfield Fair, America’s oldest agricultural fair (running for more than 200 years), featured carnival rides, food, live music, rodeos, art shows, exhibits, and nearly 300 vendors this past October.

For those looking to help boost attendance in 2025, this year’s fair dates are Sept. 12-28 for The Big E and Oct. 3-13 for the Topsfield Fair.

North America’s No. 1 fair in 2024 is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which saw 2.5 million visitors.

Check out the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024.

Kristi Palma

Culture writer

 

Kristi Palma is a culture writer for Boston.com, focusing on New England travel. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.

As wildfires continue to spread through Los Angeles County, some from Massachusetts now living in California are faced with the likelihood of evacuations.

“Our bags are packed and we’re ready to go somewhere else if we have to,” said Justin Bitensky.

The native of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, now lives in Calabasas, a city impacted by the wildfires.

“As a dad and a husband, it definitely hits a little different,” he said.

According to Bitensky, 70mph winds whipped through his neighborhood Tuesday night.

Since then, his family has been without power.

“At this point, everyone kind of knows someone who has been evacuated, or their home has burned down, or both,” he explained. “There’s almost no one who hasn’t been affected.”

The mortgage broker added that his family is waiting to see which roads remain open if evacuations do come to fruition.

“Lives are on the line, homes are on the line, people’s businesses are on the line,” Bitensky said. “I don’t think it can be understated how serious it is.”

At Boston’s Logan Airport Wednesday, passengers who flew in from LA described the inferno from the sky.

“You could look out the window and see the flames burning,” explained Amy Aldrich of western Massachusetts. “You could see the black smoke. We could smell it. My daughter and I smelled it and said, ‘That smells like wildfire smoke.’”

“A lot of people got on planes to start heading kind of west and all,” said Cam Mahseni of Boston. “A buddy of mine, Chris, is in Pasadena, and he had to kind of evacuate, and a power line went down, too, outside his house.”

“From the highway, we saw the fire and the big smoke,” another passenger added. “It’s like a movie.”