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Date: 7/27/2023
CHESTER — Volunteers are hands-on getting ready for the 101st Littleville Fair on Aug. 4, 5 and 6 at the Littleville Fairgrounds, 15 Kinnebrook Rd., Chester.
There is a new concession and upgraded information booth, and a new foundation, floor and doors in the dining hall. The main exhibit hall and snack bar have had a facelift with new windows installed, and the cattle barn has been upgraded.
Irv Williams, assistant treasurer for the fair, which received 501c3 tax status in 2022 and is run entirely by volunteers, showed off the craftsmanship in the new post-and-beam craft barn, pointing out the beams from Andy Oleksak in Westfield and the boards from Randy LaPointe’s sawmill in Worthington.
Board President Moe Williams, on a ladder fixing some detail outside the dining hall, said this year’s fair will also feature new events, including a beef cattle show, an exciting new lawnmower race, and a demolition derby to add to the traditional truck and antique tractor pulls. He said bingo will also be in the dining hall for the first time on Friday, Aug. 4, beginning at 6 p.m.
Performances on the outdoor stage include The 413s (Friday, 5-8 p.m.), the Sidetracked Band (Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Built for Comfort (Saturday, 5-9 p.m.), the Pitoniak Brothers (Sunday, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and Old Country Road (Sunday, 1-4 p.m.).
Animals will be plentiful at this New England country fair, with oxen draws on Friday and Saturday, a youth dairy and beef cattle show on Saturday, and horse pulls and a kids’ mini-horse pull on Sunday. Glenn Jameson will showcase his award-winning chickens, and there will be a 4-H petting zoo and pony rides each day, with a reptile exhibit on Saturday and Sunday.
Also for kids will be Ed Popielarczyk’s magic show and balloon sculpting, and free kids face painting on Saturday and Sunday, and a free kids under-12 bicycle raffle all three days.
On Saturday and Sunday, breakfast will be available at the food booth beginning at 7 a.m. when the fair doors open. The dining hall will serve a barbecued chicken dinner on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a turkey dinner on Sunday. Boisseau said people wait all year for the barbecued chicken at the fair.
Other Saturday events include a kids blueberry pie-eating contest at 12:30 p.m., a BMX performance, farm olympics and the fair parade at 3 p.m., and the women’s fry pan toss at 4 p.m. On Sunday, a beard competition is at 11 a.m., a zucchini contest weigh-in at noon and a kid’s potato sack race at 12:30 p.m., followed by a Jack-and-Jill cross-cut saw competition.
Raffle ticket sales end on Sunday at 2 p.m., and winners of the raffles and the flower box contest are announced at 3:30 p.m.
The next big job at the fairgrounds is a new bath house with up-to-date bathroom facilities for fair patrons. The new facility will be handicap accessible and will also have showers for overnight guests.
This major improvement to the fairgrounds will cost approximately $300,000. The Massachusetts Cultural Council has awarded a $110,000 grant to help kickstart the project, but the Littleville Fair needs to raise a matching $110,000 to receive the grant, as well as a further $90,000 to complete the facility.
The funds are being raised through events at the fairgrounds, and donations are welcome. In addition to the August fair, annual events include a car show, pancake breakfast, snowmobile race, Easter egg hunt, and for the first time this year, a music and art festival was held in June.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new bathrooms, which Williams said they hope to start in the fall, will be held on Saturday afternoon, at the start of the parade.
Admission to the Littleville Fair is $8 for adults, free for children 12 years and under. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Friday, Aug 4; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5; and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, rain or shine.