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Date: 8/8/2023
WESTFIELD — “Our mission is the promotion of agriculture and education. That’s how the fair started. We get a lot of farmers that want to be involved,” said Andy Freniere, who serves on the board of directors for the Westfield Fair, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and a member of MassFairs.org.
“Our goal is to have a fair that any family can come through, that is not super expensive. Our goal is to make enough money to have the fair next year, and invest in educational things and to be able to have shows, like the cattle show and horse show,” Freniere said.
The Westfield Fair opens Aug. 18-20 at the fairgrounds on 137 Russellville Rd. Hours are 5-10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19; and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20. General admission is $10, seniors $8 and children under 12 free with a paid adult admission. For more information, visit thewestfieldfair.com.
“The only money we take in is sponsorships and the gate fee. It’s a hard battle [whether] to go up on prices — do we charge for this, not charge for this,” Freniere said. He said they try not to charge for the extras.
One of the free extras this year is a first for the Westfield Fair — a performance by Lucky E. Rodeo out of Broadalbin, New York, at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The rodeo will feature bull riding, barrel racing, Saddle Bronc riding, bareback riding, cattle roping and a rodeo clown.
“It’s a cool thing to introduce. It goes well with the agricultural theme,” Freniere said.
The Westfield Fair starts off with its biggest draw, according to board member Jeff Phelon, which are the truck pulls on Friday night, and ends on Sunday with lawnmower pulls back by popular demand for the second year.
Saturday is the annual Kids Day at the fair, said Maureen Freniere, leader of the Wyben 4-H Club and in charge of the 4-H activities at the fair.
“Don’t miss out on all of the free activities for kids to see and do,” she said.
Activities on Saturday include the youth livestock show all day; Magical Moments balloon sculptures, the kids bike raffle, kids pedal tractor pull, and other games and activities for children in the Red Barn, including the Power Wheel obstacle course.
There is also a country fair staple, a midway carnival with games, rides and food, some of which charge ticket prices.
Freniere, who was at the Littleville Fair on the weekend of Aug. 4-6, said exhibitors show at several fairs a season. He said his wife Maureen Phelon Freniere, of Prospect Valley Farm on Pochassic Street, used to do 10 shows a season.
He said there used to be a line item in the state budget for country fairs, which would help each local fair pay for exhibitors.
“At some point, a senator must have retired, and we got removed,” he said.
He said the fair still pays winners of agricultural exhibitions, but he acknowledged that it’s not a lot of money, and the farmers have to pay for the cost of fuel, feed and not being home to participate in the fairs.
“It makes it really hard for the exhibitors to get out there. The exhibitors are not doing it for the money anymore, they are doing it for the passion of it,” Freniere said.
The annual auction begins after the fair ends on Sunday at 6 p.m. and all of the proceeds benefit the Westfield Fair. Items that are auctioned are those that people don’t take home from various hall exhibits, including baked goods, vegetables, flowers, corn stalks for decorating and bales of hay.