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Big E features new attractions, old favorites

Date: 9/24/2015

Historically, fairs were not only the place where farmers could show off prize-winning crops or livestock, but where they could also learn about new products.

Fast forward to 2015 and to the Big E where the bulk of the people who visit aren’t farmers, but the tradition is maintained. The Eastern States is a destination for gadget lovers.

A company as large as General Motors sees value in the fair, as it is a return vendor showing off new cars year after year.

It’s easy to see which gadgets work, as they are the ones that come back to the fair year after year. The Love2Pet pet brush is one such example. The vendors have been at the Big E for 14 years with its two-in-one brush. Flip the head one way and it’s a rake designed to grab the loose hair from the undercoat. With a simple twist there is now a fine comb for the outer fur.

The salesperson said it reduces the likelihood of hairballs in cats and pet dander and it’s only $30.

The Grill Mat is another return feature. The vendor has been at the fair for five years. “Chef Alan” was demonstrating the mat, which is placed on a grill surface. You cook your food on the non-stick mat rather than the metal grill.

 “Did you know zebra lays eggs?” he asked in his pitch. He broke a regular egg on the mat and the grill marks from the metal underneath the mat appear. On TV, the cost is $39.95 “but here at the fair” – a line repeated from one booth to another – the cost is one $22 for two mats.

New to the fair is Gripstic, a group of what appears to be plastic straws, but aren’t. The pitchman makes the bold claim that a family could save the use of 1,000 Ziplock bags a year by using these bag sealing devices.

The salesman simply selects the right size Gripstic, folds the bag over and slides the plastic rod over the fold. It’s better than a clip as it seals the entire opening, keeping out air.

A mere $20 bill allows you to bring the set of 12 home to use.

What do you get if you cross a skateboard with a Segway? Perhaps it would be a UR Around. This battery operated set of wheels is controlled by weight and pressure of your feet. It can go 10 miles per hour and run for two hours before it needs to be recharged.

The salesman made it look easy to balance on the devise but he said members of the public couldn’t try it because of potential liability issues.

The cost at the fair is $550.

Another big-ticket item was promised to save the consumer a lot of money. The Digistream is a small electronic box that resembles a modem, but it’s a lot more than that.

Do you have cable? Satellite? How much are you paying, the salesman asks. With the Digistream, he asserted, you can cancel your subscription for TV services and just keep the high speed Internet.

The device acts like a Roku and other devices by acting as an interface between a TV and the Internet. It allows its owner to cruise through hundred of web-based TV sites to see thousands of shows and movies. According to the pitch Digistream owners can even access HBO, Showtime and other subscription-based TV without a subscription.

And it’s perfectly legal, the salesman said – several times.

The cost is $300.

While the vendors at the Big E may be from all over the country, there are some homegrown products on display. Lynne Goldberg of Springfield was manning a table at the Massachusetts Building featuring King Cow Jerky made by her husband Bob and son Ezra Wool.

She explained the business grew out of a hobby. Now her husband and son buy grass-fed natural beef from a farm in Shelburne to turn it into six different kinds of jerky: honey chipotle; Moo & Brew, made with beer; Massachusetts Maple Morning, made especially for the Big E; Sesame Ginger; and Teriyaki.

Goldberg said the reception from Big E visitors was good and noted they sell mostly at local farmers’ markets and online at www.kingcowjerky.

Another local vendor in the Massachusetts State Building, Amy’s All Natural, started out as a homemade soap business in Wilbraham six years ago.

Owner Amy Mitchell said she sells 25 to 30 different varieties of soap, including vegan all-natural soap and those made with goat milk.

Some examples of the different soap offerings include a peppermint soap with shea butter and honey, a creamy orange soap, and Summer Breezes – made with lemon, lime, eucalyptus, shea butter, and spiralina powder.

“I even make a coffee, which I use actual brewed coffee,” she added.  

Goat milk is “amazing for your skin,” and features medicinal properties used to treat psoriasis, eczema, rashes, and dermatitis, Mitchell said.

The local business also features a special soap made for dogs, which is one of the most popular items, she noted.

“It’s the same process,” she explained. “I also added in what we call ‘super fat’ and jojoba and grape seed oil, which is good for a dog’s coats.

Fairgoers again have a chance to win a classic car and motorcycle in the Majestic Theater’s annual raffle. This is the theater’s 20th year raffling off these prizes.

The prizes this year are a 1960 Corvette Roadster and a 2003 Harley Davidson.

Pat Lalancette of the Majestic Theater said she has been selling tickets for almost as long as the raffle has existed, and every year, those attending the Big E get excited at the chance to win.

Lalancette said a previous winner, who became the owner of a Harley Davidson, came back and bought five tickets this year.

The raffle tickets are available at the Big E, as well as at the Holyoke Mall through November and December. The winner is drawn on New Year’s Eve, and the money raised from the raffle help fund future performances.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” Lalancette said.

Rosie’s Gourmet Chocolates out of New Britain, CT, has a flair for taking chances with creative desserts.

Though chocolate covered jalapenos have previously been on their Big E menu, CEO Rosie Okinsky said she wanted to take it one step further for this year’s festival.

Okinsky has introduced chocolate covered jalapeno poppers filled with either Nutella or peanut butter. She said twist on the classic appetizer has been a hit thus far.

“It’s just some sweet with the heat,” Oksinky said.

Rosie’s Gourmet Chocolates can be found in the Connecticut Building on the Avenue of States.

In addition to the jalapeno, Rosie’s also offers what Okinsky called “the original” chocolate covered bacon at the fair.

“We started this at the Big E and now we’re in our eighth year,” she said. “People come to the Connecticut building and look for us because we’re the original and we’re the best, they say.”

She said the secret is using quality slab bacon that is triple applewood smoked, then pan fried before put in the chocolate, which is made with her grandmother’s original recipe.

The offerings don’t end there.

“We do bacon everything,” she said. “We have bacon s’mores, bacon peanut butter cups, bacon Twinkies and even potato chips with bacon.”

As one of America’s favorite foods, bacon remains a go-to option in other parts of the fair as well.

Also in the Connecticut Building, J. Foster Ice Cream boasts maple bacon ice cream, which owner John Foster said is a crowd pleaser both at the fair and at is stores in Avon and Simsbury, CT.

“It outsells everything else 3-1,” he said.

Made with real maple with bacon pieces in it – “There’s an oink in every bite,” Foster said – the ice cream has been a staple for the company for four years.

“It was first created for a farm to chef program in Connecticut, so we started out using local pork, dairy and maple,” he said, adding that while local dairy is still used in his products, the demand for the flavor has caused him to diversity the source of his maple and pork ingredients.

In the Vermont Building, Vermont Smoke and Cure offers a host of bacon options, including bacon sold by the slice and bacon hot dogs.

The bacon hot dogs contain 20 percent real bacon right in the dog. The hot dog is made with uncured maple brined, cob & maple smoked bacon from pigs raised without antibiotics, as well as antibiotic-free beef, in a natural lamb casing. Once put all together, the dog is smoked with corn cobs and maple wood shavings.

To make it complete, Vermont Smoke and Cure will serve the bacon hot dog with extra bacon in the bun for an extra dollar.

A spin on a classic breakfast is also a popular option at this year’s fair as multiple vendors along Commonwealth and New England Avenues offered maple bacon waffle sundaes.

A pizzeria offering a new take on classic food is New Haven’s Randy’s Wooster St. Pizza Shop, located in the Connecticut State Building.

The “Skippy’s Dare” is a white pie topped with provolone cheese, peanut butter, and bacon.

While sounding unappetizing to say the least, in this case the lesson is sometimes weird combinations really do work. The mix of peanut butter and provolone worked to bring out both the sweet and the savory aspects of brick-oven slice and the crust is crispy. However, the gooey combo of cheese and peanut butter overpowered the bacon.

One of the servers said the pizza is always a bestseller and the idea for the stemmed from childhood nostalgia – the owner’s mother used to make him peanut butter bacon sandwiches growing up.

Another pizza spot, Angela’s Pizza, is a first time vendor at the Big E, but has wasted no time in wowing the crowds with massive eats. While also serving up personal pan pizza and chocolate chip cookies, the giant mozzarella sticks have left an impression thus far.

The giant mozzarella sticks on a stick use a quarter pound of breaded and fried cheese to draw in those whose eyes are as hungry as their stomachs.

Corina Zarrillo of Angela’s Pizza said the giant mozzarella sticks have been their best seller.

“People see the mammoth amount of cheese and they get intimidated in a good way,” Zarrillo said.

Angela’s Pizza and the giant mozzarella sticks can be found on Commonwealth Avenue.

The Big E is often synonymous with grab and go food on a stick, but Clemenza’s Brick Oven Pizza and Café of Westfield has taken a tent and turned it into an Italian café.

Though using the same sized tent as last year, according to owner Anthony Martone’s mother Rosemary Martone, they changed the set up to make it feel more like a restaurant.

Fully decorated, the tent has two square bars and a dining room. Martone said they changed the shape of the bars and tables to utilize the space better and to be able to see more people.

“People come in and they can’t believe it’s a tent,” Martone said. “They think it’s a real restaurant the way it’s set up.”

Clemenza’s also offers an outdoor garden off the side of the tent for additional seating.

It can be found on Industrial Avenue across from the Better Living Center.

The Big E went high tech this year, offering fairgoers a mobile app that puts a lot of what you need to know in your pocket. Available for iOS at the Apple Store or for Androids at Google Play store, it does require 24.73 MB of space – depending upon how much you keep in your phone you may need to uninstall apps to make room. When you download, it will ask if you want to link to your Facebook and Twitter accounts for easier sharing during your visit. Opting out doesn’t stop the install.

If you download the app before your visit and you can buy gate admissions and concert tickets – no waiting in line – as well as preplan what events you want to see for the day of your visit. Access the tickets, schedule and other links is through the pull down list on the upper left corner of the home page. Not every single event is listed in the schedule link, but for those that are, you can use the “when” tab to set alerts so you don’t miss a show, as well as create your own “my schedule” list.

Do you need to know what time the state building close, how late the midway is open or where to find the closest ATM? That info is available in the FAQ section under the ‘News, Social & Info’ link. A  ‘Things To Do’ link has tabs that pull up the area/building where you’ll find some food vendors and major attractions, an alphabetized list of (some) vendors as well as the location of baby changing stations, restrooms, information booths and first aid.  

The app also includes a scalable map of the fairgrounds with searchable, color-coded pins. Click on the dots on the upper right hand corner for a tutorial or the pin icon for a legend of what the colors indicate. Tap any pin to pop up a label; expanding the map where large red numbered pins show breaks those markers into clickable pins. If you want to permanently mark a site to remember, just hold down a pin.

However, like the time and location listings, not everything you might be looking for – say a food vendor you visit every year – is pinned, but the major players are there.

The app won’t always help you find a specific vendor/attraction in any building, and it sometimes is a bit slow. But it beats carrying around a program, or remembering to pick up a daily schedule at an info booth. And, the info is updated daily.

A downfall is there are few public charging stations, he said, and most aren’t listed anywhere on the app.