Dressed in the traditional white, young farmers brought out cattle to be judged at a previous Cummington Fair.
Reminder Publishing file photo
CUMMINGTON — For a 156th year, the Cummington Fair will return with another long weekend from Thursday, Aug. 22 to Sunday, Aug. 25, filled with different events and activities for all in the community event that honors local agriculture.
Cummington Fair President Albert Judd told Reminder Publishing the community aspect is what has made the fair so special and something people keep coming back to after over a century and a half. As someone who has been coming to the fair since as a child, Judd said he has fond memories with family and friends, and now he sees his own children having the same experiences.
For Judd, the most important part of the festival is the agricultural aspect.
“The big, big, big part of the fair for me is still honoring the agricultural aspect. Promoting agriculture, trying to educate people while still getting people entertainment that brings them in. Good shows, motor sports, the food, the rides, it all comes together,” Judd said. “There are people you may only see once or twice a year and at least one of those times is going to be at the fair. It’s a big social gathering, almost like a family reunion but a big, public event.”
Judd said as the fair nears, organizers are wrapping up a new project that is expanding parking for future fairs and hopefully this year’s as well. He added they have purchased land from a neighbor that is in the process of being converted from woods to parking lot.
“The last two years we’ve had big crowds, wet parking lots, issues where we’ve had to turn guests away because we didn’t have enough parking. People had to commute from the center of the town up to the fairgrounds. We are hoping this year we are going to have almost cured that problem,” Judd said.
While traffic will still be heavy at times, Judd said organizers are hoping to have the new lot available this year for additional parking to avoid past issues. The lot will be grass and not a blacktop.
“I’m sure for people that have come before and turned away as soon as they get there, and they’ve driven any amount of time or made plans to be there and it was their only time to come, it’s aggravating. So, we definitely wanted to fix that,” Judd said.
Headlining the weekend of events are farm animals, livestock demos, live music, a demolition derby, truck pulls, midway and much more. Gates open Thursday and Friday at 4 p.m., and 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Looking ahead to the fair, Judd encouraged those planning on attending to try and arrive earlier in the afternoon instead of the evening on Saturday and avoid the evening rush hour traffic. Overall, he expects another great year at the fair with options for all.
“I think any day of the four days we run, somebody can find something good to see and enjoy the fair. Looking forward to it and hoping for good weather,” Judd said.
For online tickets, the full events schedule for the weekend and any additional information on this year’s fair, visit cummingtonfair.com. No pets are allowed on the grounds, service dogs are permitted. No alcoholic beverages are allowed on the grounds.
