For a lot of Milford families, the Big E is a fall ritual. You pack the car, head up I-95 to I-91, and spend the day in West Springfield eating things you’d never eat at home, walking the Avenue of States, and bringing back a box of cream puffs for whoever got stuck staying behind.
This year, a lot fewer people made that trip.
The Eastern States Exposition says 1,273,109 people went through the gates during the 2026 run, Sept. 18 to Oct. 4. Last year the fair drew 1,538,463. That’s 265,354 fewer visitors, a drop of about 17 percent. It’s the second straight year of decline since the fair set its all-time record of 1,633,935 in 2024.
So what happened? The fair blames the weather and a road project. Plenty of fairgoers online blame the prices. We looked at both sides, and then we sat down and added up what a day at the Big E actually costs a Milford family of four.
The numbers, by the year
- 2024: 1,633,935 (all-time record)
- 2025: 1,538,463
- 2026: 1,273,109, down 265,354 from 2025
The Big E still pulls from everywhere. Ticket buyers this year came from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 10 other countries, according to ESE. The nonprofit also says the fair generates roughly $1.2 billion in economic activity for the region. But a 17 percent drop is a big hit for an event that lives and dies on a handful of busy weekend days.
The fair’s explanation: rain, a nor’easter and a narrower Memorial Avenue
ESE President and CEO Gene Cassidy pointed first to the weather. Rain hit the fair’s first Sunday, and a nor’easter rolled through on the middle weekend, which is exactly when a fair built around outdoor food stands, rides and parades needs sunshine the most.
That matters more than you might think. According to ESE, a single weekend day can bring in roughly 10 to 13 percent of the organization’s entire annual revenue. Lose one of those days to a storm and there’s no making it up.
“When you’re producing a live event of this magnitude, there are risks you simply cannot eliminate. We can’t control the weather. We can’t move Saturday to Tuesday and get that opportunity back. What we can do is work together to ensure the infrastructure surrounding this campus gives our guests, exhibitors, employees and businesses every opportunity to get here safely and efficiently while not clogging our community’s roads for its residents.”
Gene Cassidy, President and CEO, Eastern States Exposition
That last part is about the second problem: Memorial Avenue. The state’s redesign of the road that runs past the fairgrounds cut it from four lanes to two, a 50 percent lane reduction on the main route to the Big E’s public parking at Gate 9. ESE called the redesign and the traffic worries around it “another obstacle for guests considering a visit.”
Vendors felt it too. Cary Seaholm, who owns Apple Fries and has brought the business up from Florida for the past five years, told Western Mass News her fair was positive overall but the weather hurt. “All the vendors did feel it this week,” she said. “It was very difficult for a lot of us.”
The other explanation: “Have you seen these prices?”
Scroll through the comments under any Big E post this fall and you’ll find a different theory. Fairgoers complained about $15 corn dogs and $19 doughnuts. Others balked at paying $38.50 for a six-pack of cream puffs and eclairs, and plenty grumbled about parking, crowds and traffic in the same breath.
Some of the prices people saw on the fairgrounds were steep. In MassLive’s opening-day taste test, a CinnaMozza, a cinnamon-sugar-coated, mozzarella-filled treat from the Korean corn dog stand Golden K-Dog, rang up at $19. A giant bucket of mochi mini donuts was $26, and loaded chicken bacon ranch fries came in at $22. Other things were easier on the wallet: a cheese dog for $8, a Del’s frozen lemonade for $5, a pickle on a sword for $5.
ESE doesn’t buy the idea that prices were the main reason people stayed home. Asked about affordability, a spokesperson told Western Mass News that “Eastern States Exposition did not increase admission or parking prices this year,” and that food is “priced by those individual businesses, not by Eastern States Exposition.” The statement added that vendors’ costs for food, supplies and labor have gone up, but “in many cases, however, their prices have not increased at the same rate as inflation and, in some instances, prices decreased.”
The fair’s bottom line on the debate:
“Attributing this year’s attendance decline primarily to pricing overlooks the significant challenges presented by forecasts, weather and roadway infrastructure during a limited 17-day event.”
Eastern States Exposition statement
ESE also says it is listening. The statement acknowledged that “individuals and families are navigating increased costs throughout the economy, and those pressures are not lost on us,” and pointed to one sign that people respond to deals: Bargain Bites Day, when vendors offered food specials from $3 to $5, drew a single-day record crowd of 80,641 people on Monday, Sept. 21.
One more data point, and it cuts both ways: The Big E Bakery says it had a record year anyway, selling 115,363 cream puffs and more than 38,000 E-clairs. Fewer people came, but the ones who did still lined up for dessert.
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What a Big E day really costs a Milford family
Here’s where we got out the calculator. We built a sample budget for two adults and two kids between 6 and 12 driving up from Milford for one day. It’s an estimate based on posted 2026 prices and prices reported from the fairgrounds, not a receipt. Your family’s day could cost a lot less, or a lot more, depending on how many cream puffs come home with you.
The drive: It’s about 75 miles from Milford to the fairgrounds, roughly an hour and 20 minutes each way via I-91 when traffic cooperates. Call it 150 miles round trip. In a car that gets 25 miles per gallon, that’s 6 gallons. AAA put Connecticut’s average for regular at about $4.44 a gallon on Oct. 7, up from about $3.11 a year ago, so gas alone runs close to $27.
| Item | How we figured it | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Admission (advance tickets) | 2 adults × $17.50 + 2 kids × $11.50 | $58.00 |
| Parking at Gate 9 (cash only) | 1 car × $10 | $10.00 |
| Gas, Milford round trip | 150 miles ÷ 25 mpg = 6 gallons × $4.44 | $26.66 |
| Midway rides (advance ride vouchers) | 2 kids × $35.50 | $71.00 |
| Lunch | Maple jerk chicken plate $16 + pulled pork baked potato $22 + 2 cheese dogs × $8 | $54.00 |
| Drinks | 4 Del’s frozen lemonades × $5 | $20.00 |
| Treats | Samoa doughnut $10 + apple nachos $12 | $22.00 |
| Cream puffs to bring home | Six-pack voucher (cream puffs and/or E-clairs) | $38.50 |
| Estimated total | $300.16 |
Estimate based on posted prices. Admission, parking and ride voucher prices are from The Big E’s official site; the cream puff six-pack is the 2026 advance voucher price. Food prices are what MassLive reported paying during its opening-day taste test; vendors set their own prices and they can vary by stand and by day. Gas is based on AAA’s Connecticut average for regular on Oct. 7, 2026.
A few notes on that math. Advance tickets saved this family $6. At the gate, admission is $20 for adults and $12 for kids 6 to 12, so the same four tickets would have cost $64. Kids 5 and under get in free. The advance ride voucher turns into an unlimited-ride wristband on a weekday, but on a Saturday or Sunday it’s 78 ride credits instead. With most rides taking 9 to 21 credits, that’s roughly four to eight rides per kid on a weekend. Food is the most flexible line in the table. That’s where a family can save the most, or spend the most.
Want a leaner day? Skip the ride vouchers, eat a real meal before you leave Milford, bring water and split a couple of treats, say a Samoa doughnut, apple nachos, a S’mored Oreo and two lemonades for about $39. With advance tickets, parking and gas, that day comes to roughly $134 for four people.
How to do the Big E for less next year
Most of these come straight from the Big E’s own information. Put them on the fridge for next September.
- Buy tickets early. Advance admission was $17.50 for adults and $11.50 for kids this year, versus $20 and $12 at the gate. Advance prices went up the day before the fair opened, and the discounted ride vouchers were only sold through Sept. 17. Rocky’s Ace Hardware also sold advance tickets in stores, including locations in Stamford, Vernon and Manchester.
- Go on a weeknight. ESE says it offered $11 admission after 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, plus Senior Days. The fair also recommends weekdays if you want smaller crowds, and weekdays are when the ride voucher becomes an unlimited wristband.
- Circle Bargain Bites Day. On the first Monday of the fair, participating vendors offered specials from $3 to $5. It drew a record crowd this year, so expect company.
- Bring water. You’re allowed to bring sealed plastic water bottles or an empty refillable bottle. No glass.
- Bring cash for parking. Gate 9 parking is $10, cash only, and the fair says there are no ATMs near Gate 9.
- Use the free stuff. Admission covers free concerts on the Court of Honor Stage and The E Stage, the daily Big Parade at 6 p.m., the six state buildings on the Avenue of States, Storrowton Village Museum and Farm-A-Rama. That’s a lot of day before you spend another dollar.
- Consider the shuttle. ESE partnered with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority on a free shuttle, The Big E Express, between Springfield’s Union Station and Gate 1. That’s one way to dodge Memorial Avenue traffic.
So which was it?
Probably some of each. A nor’easter on a key weekend and a road with half its lanes would dent any crowd. At the same time, a family day that can top $300 before souvenirs, with gas costing more than it did a year ago, makes some households think twice. The fair says it didn’t raise admission or parking and that vendors set food prices. Fairgoers say they feel the total either way. Both things can be true.
The fair is already looking ahead. The 2027 Big E runs Friday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Oct. 3, 2027.
Now we want to hear from you
How many of you went this year, and what did you think? Did the weather or the Memorial Avenue traffic keep you home? Did you go and think it was worth every penny, or did the bill at the end of the day sting? What did your family spend, and what’s your best money-saving trick? Tell us in the comments. We read every one.
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