Overview The Big E is New England's state fair, all six states in one 17-day fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and along its Avenue of States each state keeps a one-third-scale replica of its original statehouse on land that state owns. The fair calls itself the only one in the country where several states take part in a single fair. Officially it is the Eastern States Exposition, first held in October 1916 by founder Joshua L. Brooks to promote farming and farm education. The Exposition is a nonprofit with no state or federal operating support, and The Big E brings in nearly 87% of its annual operating revenue. On site Each statehouse sells its own state: cranberries fresh from the bog in the Massachusetts building, loaded baked potatoes in Maine's, apple cider in New Hampshire's, cheddar in Vermont's, jewelry in Rhode Island's and a general store in Connecticut's. The Big Parade steps off every evening at 6 with high school marching bands, floats, antique vehicles, Clydesdales and Mardi Gras revelers throwing beads. The open-air Big E Arena runs headliners Friday through Sunday nights; the 2026 bill ran from Alice Cooper and Roger Daltrey to The Beach Boys, Brad Paisley, deadmau5, Ice Cube and Styx. The E Stage plays new music daily, a circus runs with free bleacher seats, livestock fills the Mallary Complex and the Storrowton Village Museum keeps a 19th-century New England village on the grounds. The Big E Cream Puff debuted in 2002 and became the fair's signature dessert, and vendors compete each year in the Big Eats awards for new foods. Audience The calendar is built around the region: each of the six New England states gets its own day at the fair, alongside a 4-H and FFA Day for young farmers and their projects and a Military Appreciation Day. On weeknights the fair sells a cheaper ticket after 5 p.m., an hour before the parade steps off. Track record Attendance set a record of 1,633,935 in 2024 and came in at 1,538,463 over 17 days in 2025. The Exposition's economic study credits it and its year-round events with about $1.17 billion in regional economic output and 8,085 jobs supported. Brand presence Sponsors attach their names to the fair's own fixtures. In 2026 Truly Hard Seltzer sponsored the Big E Arena, putting its name on every headline night of the run, and Cutco Cutlery sponsored the Big Eats awards, the yearly contest for the fair's new foods.