I consider myself an big fan of fairs, even the ones spelled with an extra “e”. They’re a great excuse to get outside, spend too much money trying to win crappy prizes, laugh at people spending too much money trying to win crappy prizes, and eat all sorts of bad-for-you food. Out of all the fairs I’ve had the pleasure to attend, one of my favorites is the Eastern States Exposition, or just the Big E. It’s basically the state fair for Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island. I’ve been to bigger fairs, but the food at the Big E is my favorite. Of course it’s got all your typical fair food: curly fries, fried dough, Italian sausages, cheesesteaks, cotton candy, turkey legs, etc. But what sets the food here apart is the Avenue of the States. Here, within scale models of the six state houses, you can get Maine lobster rolls, Vermont cheddar cheese, Rhode Island quahogs, apple pie, loaded baked potatoes, maple sugar everything, ravioli, flatbread pizza – just writing about it makes me pine. Honestly, the rest of the fair has become secondary for me. I go now for the food. That being said, the rest of the fair is pretty damn fun, too. Great livestock shows, big-name musical performers, parades, butter sculptures – highly entertaining and highly recommended.

Enormous rabbit. Saw it for free, unlike the enormous pig and enormous horse.

Some Ukrainan women I met at the fair.

Everybody wants beads at the Mardi Gras parade

Our new friend Ginger

The midway at night