The cream puffs will have to wait until 2021.
The Eastern States Exposition, colloquial known as The Big E, announced Monday afternoon that the 104th edition of the West Springfield fair has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Running one of the largest state fairs in the United States, organizers said they spent months working on a way to make The Big E happen this September, but ultimately realized there was no reasonable way to replicate the massive event amid prevailing public health and social distancing guidances.
“This decision was difficult and complex, but we all know in our hearts that it’s the right thing to do for the health and safety of the 1.6 million people who support us each year,” Gene Cassidy, the president and CEO of The Big E, said in a video message Monday.
Cassidy, who expressed hope that The Big E could return in 2021, said it wasn’t the first the annual tradition had been canceled; the fair was also suspended during World War I and for five years during World War II.
The Big E did go on following hurricanes and floods in the 1930s that ravaged New England, as well as after the September 11 attacks.
However, the risks associated with the coronavirus spreading in large gatherings have resulted in the cancellation of prominent agricultural fairs across the country this summer — from Minnesota and Iowa to Deerfield, New Hampshire. As recently as last week, organizers were still planning to go on with the Topsfield Fair in October.
Cassidy said he knew the decision Monday would be disappointing for fairgoers and devastating for “hundreds” of mom-and-pop concessionaires, who “depend on The Big E for their livelihood.”
“It’s crushing to them, and it’s crushing to me,” Cassidy said.
According to the fair’s website, The Big E’s box office will directly contact people who have already bought advance tickets. Those who bought tickets for a previously scheduled Zach Williams concert on Sept. 20 will have their purchases fully refunded.
Cassidy said the 2021 edition of The Big E is scheduled for Sept. 17 to Oct. 3.
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