Tag Archives: festivals

Summer’s End: Fairs, Food, and the First Signs of Magic

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A single tree covered in bright red autumn leaves stands in a grassy yard, surrounded by green foliage and a wooden fence. The vivid red color contrasts sharply with the surrounding greenery, capturing the early beauty of fall in New England.

Fall leavesSummer’s Last Hurrah

Here we are in the second half of August. Summer is winding down, and everyone is scrambling to squeeze in that last vacation, beach day, or backyard barbecue before school starts. Summer always feels too short — but the good news is that fall in New England has a special magic all its own.

The First Signs of Fall

Apple picking season arrives with pies, cobblers, crisps, and even apple pancakes. Cranberry bogs turn brilliant red as farmers flood the fields for harvest. Everywhere you look, there’s a sense of change in the air — and that brings us to one of the best parts of autumn: the fairs.

Cranberry Bog

The Big One: The Big E

Let’s start with the biggest fair of them all. The Big E, located in Springfield, offers a full 17 days of fair fun. Some years you’ll find camel and elephant rides for the kids. One year when I visited, the Budweiser Clydesdales led the parade — a sight you never forget. There’s so much to see and do, it’s practically its own season.

2026 Dates: September 18 – October 4

The Topsfield Fair

If that’s not enough for you, head to the Topsfield Fair — one of the oldest agricultural fairs in the country. They’re famous for their Giant Pumpkin Contest. In 2022, a record was set with a 2,480‑pound pumpkin grown in Tyngsboro, MA. That’s a lot of pumpkin pies.

2026 Dates: October 2 – October 12

More Great New England Fairs

Miss those two and you still have plenty to choose from. New England is packed with fall fairs, each with its own charm:

  • Fryeburg Fair (ME) – Early October
  • Deerfield Fair (NH) – Late September
  • Durham Fair (CT) – Late September
  • Franklin County Fair (MA) – Early September
  • Spencer Fair (MA) – Labor Day Weekend
  • Three County Fair (MA) – Labor Day Weekend

There’s truly something happening every weekend.

Specialty Fun: King Richard’s Faire

Now for the specialty faire — spelled with an e, of course. King Richard’s Faire is New England’s ultimate Renaissance experience. So my Lords and Ladies, dust off your swords and join the fun. Watch jousting and jugglers, enjoy turkey legs and mead, and step back in time for a day.

2026 Dates: August 29 – October 25

Food Festivals & Coastal Celebrations

Fall isn’t just about fairs — it’s also prime time for food and coastal festivals.

Bourne Scallop FestivalFried Scallops

One of my favorites. It features one of my favorite foods — scallops. Succulent, deep‑fried, golden scallops. They also have craft booths, but let’s be honest… I go for the scallops.

Gloucester Schooner Festival

If you want boats and fireworks, this is the place to be. Historic schooners, races, and nighttime fireworks light up the harbor.

2026 Dates: September 4–7

Peak Foliage: Nature’s Grand Finale

And just wait for that burst of color from the trees. Fall foliage usually peaks around mid‑October in southern New England, but it depends on where you are. Farther north — say in Maine — peak color can arrive as early as late September. Plan accordingly if you’re chasing the brightest leaves.

Welcome to Fall in New England

It’s a busy, beautiful season filled with fairs, festivals, food, and foliage. Whether you’re apple picking, wandering a fairground, or watching the trees turn gold, fall in New England never disappoints.

 

100 Years of Lights

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My adopted city of Taunton, MA is known as the Christmas City. Every year the city goes all out with a light display.

2010

The Annual Lighting of the Green and Lights On Festival is traditionally held the Friday following the Friday after Thanksgiving.  The Lighting of the Green has happened in the center of Taunton for 100 years, and we hope this tradition will survive 100 more.  This year’s Lighting of the Green will be focused on 100 years of family memories, and it’s sure to offer something for the whole family.

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Originally the Green was decorated to draw shoppers to the downtown area. Over the years people from all over New England came to see the Decorated Center of Taunton.

edaville2012 069 copyThis has continued even with other major light shows in the area such as the  lights at LaSalette Shrine and Edaville Railroad.

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In the beginning it was just  Christmas trees. Over the years  it evolved to displays, some of which were motorized and moved.

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One of the factors that contributed to Taunton’s reputation as the Christmas City is that prior to 1951, there was no Route 24. That meant that all the people who were traveling between Boston and Fall River would have to go through downtown Taunton when using routes 140, 44 and 138.

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The 1948 display was the first to feature an illuminated sign that reads, “THE CHRISTMAS CITY,” and during that year WBZ-TV first came on the air and broadcast the lighting of the Taunton Green.

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I’ve only lived in Taunton since 2006 but have embraced the city and it’s traditions. Unlike many of the other places I’ve lived, this doesn’t feel like a “stop along the way”. I feel a pride of place that I haven’t experienced except in my original hometown in New York.

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Because of my work schedule I have never had a chance to attend the Lighting of the Green Ceremony and even though I have the day off this year, I will  miss it again as I have a previous commitment to a friend. But missing the festivities is really a small price as the Green will be decorated and lit throughout the Christmas Season. I will have my chance to enjoy the lights and take my photos as I have in years past and I promise you’ll see them right here.

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Manatee Festival, Orange City

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Another beautiful day in Orlando and I find myself on the road to Orange City where a Manatee Festival is taking place. It’s a big enough event that it made the local news stations so I’m about to find out what it is.

My GPS came through as good as gold. I spotted the sign for the Manatee Festival just as that annoying female voice sang out “TURN LEFT”.  A bit farther down the road I was directed into a makeshift parking lot by attendants that looked awfully young. Maybe I’m just getting old. 🙂 I think they were high school kids. There were several  lots, one on grass, another on a ball field. I saw picnic tables on a hill and fairly large restroom facility that looked like it might double as a locker room.

I followed the crowd to a huge field surrounded by booths and makeshift barriers obviously to prevent folks from sneaking in without paying the entry fee. Admission was only $8.00 for adults and $2.00 for children but I suppose that can add up if it’s a large family. The entry fee goes to support the Blue Spring State Park.

At the far end of the field was a stage with a constant flow of performers. The volume was pumped up and a real carnival atmosphere prevailed. Fair food abounded, ice cream, hot dogs, popcorn, a minefield of temptation! In the center was a dog agility ring with shows going on throughout the day. Opposite from the stage and the Bubble Ride , Bounce Houses and other amusements were the vendors. They had everything for sale. I stopped by the photo tent to see how they were set up and check out their prices…educational purposes, of course. They even had a sand castle!

There was the booth from the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). That was a cool booth but none of the “Stars” from Operation Wild were on hand when I was there.

To get to the spring and the manatees you took a bus which dropped you off at the park. It was clear that parking at the Blue Springs Park was inadequate for the number of visitors here today. The bus was very comfortable anyway.

Once they drop you off you are right there. Walk straight ahead and there’s the boardwalk. It was crowded so after some fruitless maneuvering I gave up and moved on down the walkway. There were observation decks every few hundred yards so pretty soon I left the crowd behind and was able to get a peek at the spring.

The water was crystal clear.

 You could see the fish and sure enough, there were manatees…not one  but more like 3 or four. I kept counting  and  in the end I would say between 15 and 20 in all. They come into the springs to keep warm because the spring stays around 72 degrees all year ’round. When it’s really cold they have had as many as 300 Manatees jammed into the spring to keep warm.

They have to leave the spring to eat. The  bottom is sandy and doesn’t support the vegetation the manatees need to survive. The whole section of the river and spring is closed off as a manatee sanctuary but boats were lined up along the border to see the manatees. It was easy to see how  they could be injured by a prop from one of the waiting boats.

So finally I was seeing manatees in the wild. It’s not like the pictures you see because those are all taken from an underwater perspective. Because we were on observation decks we were looking down into the water. You could see the manatees but they were almost like ghosts. Some hardly moved at all while others seemed to patrol the perimeter. One of them came in kind of close and settled to the bottom.

About every 20 minutes you could see it slowly start to rise to the surface. Then just the nose would pop up for a breath of air and back down it went. It was easy to sit there under the trees and just enjoy the rhythm.

Of course we had to keep an eye out for the neighborhood alligators. Like the guide said on the eco-safari. This is Florida , if there’s water there’s ‘gators. The alligators don’t seem to pay much attention to the manatees and vise versa. They were on the banks sunning right next to where the manatees were soaking in the water.

The afternoon passed quickly and although I could have wished for better pictures, it was a great experience. I’m so happy I finally got to see a wild manatee. Maybe next trip I’ll take the tour that lets you swim with the manatees.

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Then I might be able to get one of those iconic pictures like you see in all the ads and on the Nat Geo channel.