The Big E sets new one-day attendance record

Date: 9/25/2014

WEST SPRINGFIELD – On Sept. 20, The Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) set a new all-time, single-day attendance record with 170,612 guests.

“We knew it would be an extraordinary day based on the traffic in the area and crowds flooding through the gates well into the night,” Director of Marketing Noreen P. Tassinari told Reminder Publications.

The new record trumps one that stood for 30 years, a single-day attendance of 169,866 back in 1980.

Tassinari noted that many factors contributed to the record showing this past Saturday. The middle weekend of the 17-day fair is often the busiest, as word of mouth creates a buzz in the local area. Advertisement, programming, and social media outreach have all been very strong components of attracting large crowds this year.

The most powerful tool in the Big E reaching an expanded audience has been social media. This year, the exposition introduced “The Big E Hot Spot,” a media hub at which patrons can win scavenger hunts, contests, and prizes using their smartphones.

Social media involvement via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram has proven to be a supreme form of free advertisement for the Big E, who can reward patrons for their involvement. The Hot Spot has its own staff team, willing to assist patrons as well as offer them a place to charge their mobile device.

As of Sept. 20, the total attendance to date at the 2014 Big E was 705,722. “So far this year is on pace with last year, despite two very rainy days,” Tassinari said. The Big E set a total attendance record of 1,481,917 visitors in 2013.