The Big E

The Big E is an enormous fair, which grew out of the kind of county fair we might have at home.  The difference is that this one was for the whole of New England, that is the states of Connecticut (where we are in New Haven), New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts.  Each state had its own building displaying and selling its most famous wares: patchwork quilts were in abundance, as were knitted mittens, iced cakes, cowboy boots (in New England? even I know that can't be quite authentic), and multiple varieties of popcorn.  You could buy cream puffs in Connecticut, Raspberries in Rhode Island and checked flannel shirts in Vermont.

Outside there were acres of fairground rides, and mile upon mile (so it felt) of stores selling their wares, from garden jacuzzis to kitchen utensils to hippy-style silk dresses.

There were exhibition lawns with high school marching bands sporting brightly coloured uniforms and accompanied by flag-waving majorettes.  There were displays of American-style country dancing, of the kind seen in Oklahoma! and Carousel.  There was a "day-out-for-all-the-family" feel about the place; there were children (riding in pushchairs and little carts for parents to pull along) young people, young adults, parents, grandparents.

There was an "animal petting" zoo with sheep, goats and alpacas.  There was an indoor arena with a shire horse show.  There were displays by bee keepers, donkey rides, and a game show with teenage contestants featuring questions on horsemanship.

And everywhere one looked, there was food.  Carts and stalls sold baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese soup (a local speciality), and hot dogs.  There was all manner of sweet things: "fried dough" (deep fried doughnut mixture), candyfloss (made with maple sugar, as well as the pink synthetic variety), and miles of fudge.  You could eat food served on a stick: smoked salmon (a long chunk of fish rather than a strip - delicious), corn dogs (hot dogs covered in corn meal and deep fried) and chocolate-covered apples.  We were also introduced to funnel cake: doughnut dough squeezed through a tube and then - you guessed it - deep fried.

The first photo shows a man making a vat of popcorn - I think this was a New Hampshire tent. The second is Rebekah with Jenny and Alison (two Yalie friends) with our first experience of fried dough, which is sprinkled with icing sugar on one side and cinnamon sugar on the other.